The Knight in the Area: The Road to the Promised Land
by KiraYamatoFan
Summary: Following the epilogue in "Dream or Premonition", Kakeru and Nana, newly engaged to each other, have set a new objective with their club's teammates for the next season: win all the big trophies. However, former teammates and former opponents from the original series stand in their way. Will Kakeru and Nana succeed in their journey? Follow them through a new and exciting campaign.
1. Prologue - A Dream

**The Knight in the Area: The Road to the Promised Land**

DISCLAIMER: This is purely a work of fan-made fiction. The characters and incidents portrayed herein are fictional. Any similarity to the name, character or history of any actual persons living or dead, other than from the canon Area no Kishi, is entirely coincidental and unintentional.

NOTES: Although the text is in English, normal font is used when people English dialogue is written in _Italics_ although the text is already in English. Meanwhile, dialogue using other languages will be written normally then followed by the English translation between parentheses.

When I wrote the prequel, I didn't take into account the events in the original manga from anything after Chapter 323 (Volume 38). So see that prequel and this story as an alternate timeline from that time point.

SUMMARY: Following the epilogue in "Dream or Premonition", Kakeru and Nana, newly engaged to each other, have set a new objective with their club's teammates for the next season: win all the big trophies. However, former teammates and former opponents from the original series stand in their way. Will Kakeru and Nana succeed in their journey? Follow them through a new and exciting campaign for both club and country.

This story can also be found on the Area no Kishi Fanon under my other alias, Toukairin2012, with more detailed descriptions of the characters involved in the story.

* * *

**Prologue - A Dream**

"_Life... It can be difficult. You know that. We all need someone to rely on... Someone who's going to be there... Someone who's going to make you feel like you belong... Someone constant. It's ecstasy, anguish, joy and despair. It's part of our history, part of our country, and it will be part of our future. It's theatre, art, war and love. It should be predictable... but never is. It's a feeling that can't be explained, but we spend our lives explaining it. It's our religion. We do not apologize for it, we do not deny it. They're our team, our family and our life... Football_."

-Sean Bean, actor and football fan, 1997.

…

**Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France**

**UEFA Champions League final**

**May 19, 201X**

It was a nice evening in the Paris metropolitan area up to that point as the sun was going down on the Western horizon. The night was promising to be as nice as the day was. The streets of Paris were mostly empty as the large majority of people were watching the biggest club football match of all, the Champions League final. For the hosting stadium in the North of Paris, the event started with an excellent choreographic display on the pitch for the opening ceremony

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: Welcome to Paris. Over 81,000 here at the Stade de France this evening. It really is an extraordinary atmosphere.**_

Following the ceremony, both sets of supporters, located on opposite ends of the stadium, raised their cards up to create giant fan-made mosaic tifos as messages of encouragement for their respective teams. Finally, both teams came out of the players' tunnel under thunderous applause and walked by the much desired European Champion Clubs' Cup without touching it for superstitious reasons. Kakeru Aizawa was among the starters for Manchester United while Nana "Seven" Mishima followed among the substitutes to begin the match, No matter what was about to happen, it was about to be the biggest night of their club career to this day.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: But you do wonder: is Fate now taking a hand in Manchester United's destiny? They have made their own luck with their boldness and their adventure. But they've had just enough luck to stand here on the brink of history once more. It's a chance of a lifetime.**_

However, the game didn't go exactly as planned as the opposition took the lead early on and dominated large spells of the final itself. As desperation grew stronger for Manchester United with a 1-2 deficit late into stoppage time of the second half, the team from the Northwest of England launched several attacks in attempt to take the game back on equal terms before the final whistle.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: We're in the final minute of added time now. Desperation for Manchester United.**_

With the ball intercepted deep in United's own half, the players in red started what could possibly be the final attack of the match. United's Spanish midfielder Juan took the ball forward before he passed to Nana in the middle, then back to Juan in the give-and-go. Suddenly, the Spaniard saw a player in red waving his hand up ahead of him.

"_Over here!_" Kakeru shouted.

"Vamos (Come on), _Knight!_" Juan shouted in reply.

The pass rolled from Juan to Kakeru, who then pushed forward as he saw a small gap between 2 defenders. However, the opposition's Brazilian center-back ran back and stood in front of Kakeru at the edge of the box.

"Você não vai passar (You won't pass)."

Suddenly, Kakeru spotted a fellow red shirt running by his right and made a quick back heel pass to that player.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: Aizawa with the laying off...**_

That player was none other than Nana and she saw the gap from her position. Transported by momentum and by the element of surprise, Nana was running towards the goal. Caught off guard, the opposition's French left-back stuck his right leg out to take away the ball from her, but never touched it and Nana was tripped as a result.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: It's Mishima, SHE'S BROUGHT DOWN!**_

In total unison, anyone playing for, working for and supporting Manchester United shouted for a penalty with their arms in the air when they saw that the point of contact was inside the box. As Kakeru turned and waited to see the referee's gesture, he saw the decision: the referee immediately pointed towards the 12-yard spot. It was massive satisfaction for the players wearing red.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: SHE'S GIVEN A PENALTY! Nana Mishima has earned a penalty!**_

Inside the stadium, the thousands of Manchester United supporters jumped off their seats cheering loudly. At the same time, Kakeru ran straight to Nana and gave her a double high-five to congratulate her. Some of the United players congratulated Nana as well. On the other end of the spectrum of emotions, the player who committed the foul was waving his hands in the air utterly outraged.

"Non, non! C'est quoi ce bordel? (No, no! What the hell was that?)"

"Tu l'as fauchée dans la surface. C'était une faute claire et nette (You brought her down in the box. It was a clear-cut foul)." the referee said as he showed the culprit a yellow card.

Then the penalized player's teammate, and team captain, came in to protest: "Comment ça, penalty? C'est n'importe quoi! (How's that a penalty? That's ridiculous!)."

"Calme-toi, tu perds ton temps. Recule maintenant si tu ne veux pas prendre un carton (Calm down, you're wasting your time. Now, step back if you don't want to take a card)." the referee replied.

Despite all the protests and appeals from other players, the referee remained frosty and simply ordered everyone but Kakeru and the opposing goalkeeper to clear the area for the penalty kick to be taken. Meanwhile, Kakeru picked up the ball and put it on the penalty spot.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: A yellow card has been given for the foul. Now, it's the Japanese international who's on the ball. Stepping up is Kakeru AIzawa with a chance to equalize for Manchester United in the last seconds of added time and to force extra time.**_

Having taken a few steps back, Kakeru mentally blanked himself out from all the surrounding distractions to focus on where to shoot the ball. It was a battle of wits between him and the goalkeeper. Finally, the referee moved back and gave the signal for the kick to proceed.

PEEEP!

Kakeru made his run and struck the ball hard. The ball sliced towards the goalkeeper's right, but the pace on the shot was too much for the goalkeeper to reach it. Without a doubt, Kakeru's shot hit the back of the net and sent the thousands of United supporters behind the goal into an explosion of noise.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: AIZAWA HAS TIED IT! Manchester United are now on terms! Yes, on terms on the night at 2-2! They are still in the European Cup.**_

"All right, I did it!" Kakeru shouted in celebration.

Kakeru ran up a few steps with the finger pointed to the sky typical of his usual celebration before he was caught up by Nana. Both fell one on top of the other on the ground. Within the following seconds, their teammates joined them and jumped altogether into a man pile in celebration. Once again, the little Japanese striker saved his team with a late goal as he did so many times before, whether it was about winning matches or getting the team back into the game.

Meanwhile, the players of the other team looked dejected after conceding the equalizer only seconds away from winning the Champions League. A few seconds later, those players picked themselves up back in position for the restart. However, neither team had the time to do anything else after the ball was kicked for the restart.

PEEP, PEEEEEP!

Upon the whistle signaling the end of the second half, the majority of cheers came from the thousands of Manchester United supporters and the few neutrals who were enjoying the game so far in the stadium.

_**Clive Tyldesley**__**: That was the last action of the 90 minutes, but there is gonna be plenty more to come thanks to a late penalty by Kakeru Aizawa for Manchester United. He's kept them in the Champions League and we now have 30 extra minutes to play. If it's still tied after that, we will go to penalties.**_

During the small break before the beginning of extra time, players of both teams took a moment to relax and re-energize with energy drinks.

"Ready for 30 more minutes, Kakeru?" Nana asked.

"Always, Seven. I could not have done this without you once again."

"Thanks, it was a great pass. However, it's time to wake up now." Nana said.

Suddenly, the words "wake up" echoed stronger in Kakeru's head and everything became blurry to him. He realized that nothing of this was really happening in truth.

* * *

When Kakeru woke up in his bed, he noticed that Nana was already sitting beside him with a smile on her face. She was wearing a silky satin nightgown.

"Hey, Kakeru. Finally awake?" Nana asked.

"Seven..."

"Since we are engaged, you don't need to call me that way anymore except when on the pitch. We agreed on that a while ago. Besides, you can't call me that forever. Remember?" Nana said.

"Old habits die hard, I guess." Kakeru replied as he cuddled with Nana a little.

"It's all right."

"It's going to be another nice summer day from the looks of it." Kakeru said as he noticed morning sunlight and clear skies outside the bedroom's window. "I just made quite some dream."

"What did you dream about?" Nana asked.

"We were playing in the Champions League final in the Stade de France, in Paris against a team I couldn't recognize. There was the ceremony, walking by the European Cup, tifos, crowd cheering... well, the whole thing. We were down by a goal late in the game, only seconds away from the final whistle." Kakeru replied.

"What happened then?"

"I made a clever pass to you to fool the defender. As you were almost in the clear to shoot, another defender tripped you inside the area and gave away a penalty." Kakeru said.

"Then you scored the penalty?" Nana asked.

"Yep. It was the last action of normal time. That's when I woke up."

"The Stade de France... I would love to play there, especially in the Champions League. Isn't that the venue for next season's final?" Nana asked.

"It is. That's probably why I had a dream of it." Kakeru replied.

"Thinking of the Champions League, I wish we didn't have that stupid referee making that controversial call and robbing us a place for last season's final."

"What is done is done. We can't change the past, but we can change the future." Kakeru said.

"Well said. You remember the promise the guys made back in May for us? 'We will do everything to win the big trophies as our wedding gift before you get married' they said."

"That's why we keep ourselves working on the training ground to be fit although we're still in the summer. We will do everything it takes so we can all make this promise become a reality, Nana." Kakeru said before he gave Nana a kiss.

"That's the big goal. However, we have a day ahead of us to take on first." Nana replied as she got up from the bed. "Are you in for a shower?"

"I'm in." Kakeru replied with a big grin.

It was the beginning of another normal day in early July, a day far from anything related to the action of the big football leagues for Kakeru and Nana... or so it seemed to be.


	2. 01: Clinical Clerkship, A New Teammate

**Chapter 1: Clinical Clerkship, A New Teammate**

Following the previous season, Kakeru was supposed to be part of the Japanese national team taking part in a small international tournament. However, an injury in training ruled Kakeru out of the squad for the tournament. Since Japan made their way to the semi-finals without Kakeru, it became an important source of motivation for him to perform even better and to reclaim his spot as Japan's best striker. At the same time Kakeru was allowed to take a break from the game because of injury, the situation allowed him to carry on with medical school alongside Nana.

In Japan, the undergraduate curriculum in medical school usually takes 6 years before the student proceeds into full specialization in a particular field of interest. For the first year, students spend more time on general liberal arts such as psychology, law, medical history, physics, chemistry and biology. In years 2 and 3, the curriculum begins to specialize into medicine-based courses such as anatomy, physiology, biochemistry and immunology. In years 3 and 4, courses are organized around specialties such as microbiology, pharmacology, pathology, cardiovascular medicine, neurology, etc.

Although it is widely known that Japanese medical students spend lots of time devoting to extracurricular activities during the first 4 years, and that passing class assessments doesn't takes that much effort despite having 10-15 classes per term, some people believed that neither Kakeru nor Nana would be able to complete their first 4 years in time. Nevertheless, the distance education system allowed both Kakeru and Nana to have access to the lectures ahead of time while dealing with the constraints imposed by training sessions. With excellent marks, Kakeru and Nana have been both recognized as model students as well as quality professional athletes.

Since Kakeru and Nana successfully passed the mandatory objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) in December and the computer-based test (CBT) in January of their 4th year, both Japanese players were cleared to proceed into the 2-year clinical clerkship. By definition, the clinical clerkship is the student's first ward experience that includes patient interaction and clinical teaching at the bedside. However, more emphasis is put on the student to perform literature reviews, write weekly reports on patients' medical conditions, attend lectures, and observe rather than actively participate in clinical care. Nevertheless, the undergraduate program's clinical clerkship allows medical students to rotate between all the hospital's departments while spending between 1 and 4 weeks in each department, around 8 hours a day.

Kakeru and Nana's academic path took them to the Tokyo Medical University Hospital in Shinjuku as the workplace for their clinical clerkship during summer until training camp.

* * *

**Tuesday July 18**

**7:50 AM**

On every morning since Kakeru and Nana returned to Japan for time as clinical clerks during summer, both usually leave their apartment in Toshima-ku, Tokyo at 7:25 AM for a 20-minute drive to Tokyo Medical University Hospital. At the hospital, Kakeru and Nana already changed and wore their lab coats on when they were greeted by fellow medical students assigned to the same hospital.

"Well, well. The married couple is in the house." fellow medical student Hikaru Wakahisa said before other male students chuckled at the comment.

Kakeru sighed and replied: "Seriously, Hikaru. You're never tired of teasing us? Wait until you find a woman of your own."

"Me? I'm not settling down for one woman just yet. Like my last name says, I wanna stay forever young." Hikaru replied before he whispered to Kakeru: "Besides, one big advantage of becoming a doctor is that it's easy to flirt with nurses after you earn the title of doctor."

"OK, Hikaru. It's about time we have a talk about your morals in private." a female medical student named Chisa Miyama said as she sneaked behind Hikaru, who was sweating big when he heard Chisa's voice.

"O... O... Ohayou, Chisa." Hikaru stammered.

"Good timing, Chisa-chan." Nana said.

"Anytime, Nana-chan. I will take care of this idiot before he does something stupid." Chisa replied as she dragged Hikaru away.

"Hikaru loves medicine and knows when to be serious on the job. Yet he reminds me a lot of Kouta sometimes." Kakeru said.

"He sure does. A very tight leash will be quite needed by any woman who wants to keep him all for herself." Nana replied.

"That's for sure." Kakeru replied with chuckles in between before he looked at his watch. "Oh, we have to go now. The nephrology department is waiting for us."

"Let's go." Nana finished.

Then Kakeru and Nana walked their way to the nephrology department where they were joined by the hospital's nephrologists and residents assigned to the department. After a morning meeting to discuss about the patients in the department, it was time to conduct morning rounds. In this case, it was the weekly bedside teaching round.

Following the faculty nephrologist and 2 first-year residents, Kakeru and Nana observed the evaluation procedures on a few inpatients. At one point, the group came to observe the evaluation of an 11-year-old boy who was admitted with pyelonephritis around a week ago. For a student in a clinical clerkship setting, the main task was to take notes in order to know each patient well enough to be able to answer precise questions about each patient.

"Okay, now breathe normally." the nephrologist said as he put his stethoscope on the boy's back to hear his lungs breathing.

"Very well. Let me check your temperature." the nephrologist said as he put the ear thermometer in the boy's ear and then got the result within a second. After the temperature check, the nephrologist checked the boy's blood pressure. "It's good. The nurse will come soon with the injection. Still, things are improving for you so far."

Meanwhile, Kakeru wrote the data in the evaluation form. "Aizawa-sensei. I didn't ask it before, but are you the same Kakeru Aizawa, the soccer player?" the boy asked after he turned his gaze towards Kakeru.

"I'm not a doctor yet, but I am the same guy. Just call me the way you want to, Toshio-kun." Kakeru replied with a smile.

"How can you work like a doctor and play soccer at the same time?" Toshio asked.

"Let's say that some people helped me to do it. Still, there's nothing impossible, not even when you love doing more than one thing."

"Will you play on Sunday? I heard there's a match coming on that day."

"The coach will decide after Saturday's training." Kakeru said.

Then a nurse came in as it was time for Toshio to receive an injection with antibiotics. Toshio sighed as he was not too happy about it.

"I hate needles." Toshio mumbled.

"Don't worry, Toshio-kun. Things will get better by the time you won't need injections any longer." Kakeru said. "I'll try my best to be on the pitch on Sunday, and score a goal for you."

"Cool! Thank you, Kakeru-san."

"You are a fighter. Always remember that." Kakeru finished as he and Toshio gave a mutual fist bump to bid goodbye.

"You are good in interacting with patients, Aizawa-kun." the supervising nephrologist said.

"Thank you, Sensei." Kakeru replied with a tone transpiring a reluctance to accept the praise.

"No, I really mean it. Adding that to your learning ability, I think you will make a fine doctor after your career as a player, regardless of your future specialty. Take it as a blessing."

After finishing the morning rounds, Kakeru and Nana attended a few mini-lectures on clinical nephrology cases until noon. At noon, Kakeru and Nana were joined by Hikaru, Chisa, other medical students and residents in the hospital's restaurant for lunch. It was also usually the time to talk about everything, especially soccer and life in England - 2 subjects Hikaru and Chisa were particularly interested in.

"So... What's the plan for the pre-season? I read that it's already started since last week-end in Australia." Hikaru asked.

"I haven't received a word yet, but we aim to get on the pitch for a few minutes in the game against Yokohama F. Marinos on Sunday, and then increase the number of minutes in the other 2 games against J-League teams." Kakeru replied.

"It will be like playing at home if any, I guess." another medical student said.

"It will, Daisuke-san. Marinos are the only J-League Division 1 team from the Kanagawa prefecture." Nana replied.

"But how is it that you two are not training with the Manchester United team yet?" another medical student, a young man named Shunsuke, asked.

"It was something that was planned long ago, Shunsuke-san. United showed a lot of class by supporting Nana and I in our medical studies. They know there's always the summer break coming at this time of the year, so we can catch up with them."

"Would that mean you fall behind in training?" Chisa asked.

"Only in terms of finding the chemistry back with old and new teammates, but that usually takes a few games. Otherwise, we both have specific training programs prepared by the club for each summer, so we always keep good fitness." Nana replied.

"How will you keep up with clinical clerkship when you'll get back to England?" Chisa asked.

"The University of Manchester already prepared a schedule where we will spend time at hospitals affiliated with the University, mainly the Trafford General Hospital. It will be analog to the 3rd/4th year of British medical school since they spend less time on learning liberal arts. Because of time constraints going with morning training, it will be quite some stretch to fit hours at the hospital even if we include afternoon and some evening hours." Kakeru replied.

"However, conference and lecture material will be sent in advance whenever possible. Very helpful." Nana added.

"What is it like to live in Manchester? Being a soccer star, I guess girls are all over you, Kakeru." Hikaru asked.

"Hikaru, that's out of order." Chisa frowned.

"Dropping the subject of girls, it's a really nice city to live in. Quiet, relaxing... everything's there to keep us focused on what we do. When it comes to soccer, the people are passionate. Overall, it's not a problem." Kakeru replied.

"Are you very involved in the community, Kakeru?" Shunsuke asked.

"Quite a lot, yes. I love that: helping the neighborhood, donating to hospitals for medical equipment and research, playing with kids... everything involving common people."

"That's good. As long as you two don't change who you are, everything will be fine." Chisa said.

"Being medical students help us keeping our feet down to Earth. Still, thanks for the take-home message." Kakeru replied.

"Nice one indeed, Chisa-chan. Both of us will pull out the best season of our lives with that in mind." Nana added.

"We'll all look forward to that." Hikaru finished with a smile.

Between 1:00 PM and around 5:00 PM, Kakeru and Nana were able to observe an entire hemodialysis procedure of another patient. Finally, they spent the rest of the time reading reports on patients' electrolyte levels, and adding the information to their written weekly reports on the patients they were assigned with.

* * *

**6:10 PM**

When Kakeru and Nana left their apartment in the morning, they also had their equipment bags stocked in the trunk of their Toyota Aqua so they could drive to Komazawa Olympic Park after their time at the hospital for some training. There was always a risk that paparazzi would hound Kakeru and Nana in such a public place, especially since their engagement became public. In general, most of the media accepted the couple's plea for privacy bar for very few rebels working for Japanese tabloids. Nevertheless, Kakeru and Nana had a much easier ride compared to most Japanese celebrities, mainly because of the couple's commitment to live a rather normal life despite their acquired fame.

The training session usually consists of either normal drills on the pitch or a workout in the gym according to the summer training program prescribed by United's fitness coaches. By the time Kakeru and Nana got dressed in full kit and arrived at the auxiliary training field at 5:40 PM, there were students from the Komazawa University men's soccer club already warming up. After some stretching work and some passing drills for a total of 30 minutes, Kakeru and Nana moved towards the free kick training end of the pitch along with a few other Komazawa University players.

"Hey, Mishima-san. You wanna go first?" a Komazawa player asked.

"My pleasure, Tanaka-san." Nana replied before she walked towards a line of 10 footballs ready for the free kick drill within 25 yards from goal.

'This should be interesting.' Kakeru thought.

On every attempt Nana took, she made her run almost from a few yards at 45 degrees to the left side of the ball before she hit it with her right foot. On the moment she made contact with the ball, her left ankle bent down a little so it would allow her to strike the ball from underneath it. Also, her body angle was almost at 45 degrees, which allowed her to wrap her right foot around the ball and create a topspin effect on the ball. Each shot flew quickly around or over the dummy wall before dipping in mid-air towards the goal. Out of 10 attempts, 7 shots ended up into either top corner of the goal while one out of the remaining 3 hit the inside of the bottom low corner.

"Seven out of 10 times in the top corners... I'm glad she's not playing against us. Goalkeepers would have a hard time predicting that kind of accurate shot." another Komazawa player said.

"And those shots are full of venom as well. Did you learn that from watching DVDs of David Beckham or what? I can see the inspiration there." Tanaka asked Nana.

"I did. I only practiced that in my spare time when I was not yet a professional, but I only picked up working more seriously on it in training since I joined United. 'Becks' showed me a few extra tips when I attended a soccer clinic he hosted 3 years ago."

"It looks very close to the original thing now, Seven." Kakeru said.

"Thanks. Now show me what you've got, Kakeru."

Without further due, Kakeru lined up the 10 balls before he took free kicks of his own. Like most players who take free kicks nowadays, Kakeru also tried emulating the Beckham method. Obviously not as successful as Nana was, Kakeru managed to hit the goal 6 times out of 10, of which 4 shots hit the top corners.

"Not bad at all, Kakeru."

"The dip on my shots wasn't as good, so I won't make a living on free kicks anyway. You're the dead ball specialist, Seven. I can't wait to see your technique in action." Kakeru replied to Nana with a smile.

"Shooting free kicks and corners is far from easy. It takes lots of work." one of the Komazawa players said.

"You think you can become the designated shooter at the big club with that, Mishima-san? I think you have quite a killer free kick there." another Komazawa player said.

"We'll see what the Manchester United manager will say about that." Nana replied. "Your turn, guys."

"With 7 out of 10 in the top corners and 8 out of 10 on target in total, this is going to be hard to beat." Tanaka said before he went on.

"_Bend it like Beckham_, they say." Kakeru finished.

And so the Komazawa players took their free kicks. None of them succeeded more than 5 shots out of 10 on goal.

"I guess we won't really cut it with such success ratio." Tanaka said.

"It's not a matter of pure skill, Tanaka-san. Coaches have been telling us that everything comes out of hours and hours of practice. Trust me: it works depending on what you concentrate your energy." Kakeru replied.

"He's right. Sometimes, it only takes one extra hour of training after a normal session on each single day for some time to get something right." Nana added.

"I'll take note of that." Tanaka replied. "Are you in for a match, next?"

"Sure do." Kakeru and Nana replied altogether.

After the drill, the players moved in for an 11-a-side match, of which Kakeru and Nana enjoyed the action of a simulated match for 30 minutes. After the simulated match, a few players stayed behind for extra practice time on the training field although the main session was officially over. On that occasion, Kakeru and Nana worked on testing their shooting quality of pace and accuracy from 12 yards. They knew that working on penalty kicks would always come in handy in due time.

* * *

**8:50 PM**

After dinner back at the apartment at Toshima-ku, Kakeru was reading through sports news on his laptop to see if something was about to change the landscape in the Premier League and other European Leagues. As he scrolled down the headlines about player transfers, one article caught his attention in particular.

"Nana, look at this." Kakeru said.

"What is it?"

"Arsenal F.C. signed Patrick Jenpa from AS Monaco for £40 million. That means we must expect a more serious challenge from them for next season."

"Yeah, Araki-san said a number of times that he was missing the presence of a quality and consistent thoroughbred striker to push Arsenal towards the top of the table instead of finishing in 5th position. I can only imagine what kind of damage these two can do together." Nana said.

"The media are right to call Jenpa the most lethal African-born striker since Didier Drogba. He won last season's French golden boot by some distance in Ligue 1 with 34 goals. We're not even talking of the goals he scored in other competitions for Monaco. His presence is going to be a pain for our defenders." Kakeru added.

"Still, we have the Knight in red. I think we'll be alright if the Gunners want to fight fire with fire." Nana replied as she hugged Kakeru from behind.

"Thanks. Sometimes I forget how good I am."

"Other news?" Nana asked.

"Hibino signed a 4-year extension with Ajax Amsterdam despite all the offers Ajax received for him." Kakeru replied.

"Good for him then."

"Sure. He told me how he grew very fond of Amsterdam when he went there to receive specialized treatment after that injury in elementary school. I guess it was natural for him to commit into a long-term deal with them."

"Anything linked with our team so far?" Nana asked.

"There are rumors here and there all around Europe about midfielders joining us, but nothing concrete." Kakeru replied.

"I see. We are still looking for another midfielder who can shield the back 4 and yet provide a good first pass on counterattacks better than anyone we have at the moment." Nana said.

"We will see what will happen among transfers, but I know our club will do the right thing."

Then Kakeru went back to reading medical articles that would help him for the last few days in the nephrology department. A little before 10:00 PM, Kakeru received an unexpected incoming call from Yusuke through Skype.

"Hello, Yusuke."

"I hope I'm not disturbing you." Yusuke said.

"No, it's fine. Why are you calling in this late?"

"Sorry. I'm calling from Europe, so it's still in the afternoon here."

"Where in Europe?" Kakeru asked.

"I'm keeping it a surprise for now. I wanted to tell you, Kakeru and Nana: I finally signed for a club in Europe."

"Oh, that's great! Which club is it?" Nana asked.

"It's a very big club. It must be almost 10:00 PM in Japan, right?" Yusuke asked.

"Yeah, but why?" Kakeru returned the question.

"Watch 'Daily Soccer News Foot!' on J-Sports 2 for starters. There's your answer."

Without any further due, Kakeru tuned in J-Sports 2 on his iPad as the broadcast was starting. Before long, Kakeru and Nana understood that the main topic of the day was about Yusuke's high-profile transfer to a big European club.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to tonight's edition of 'Daily Soccer News Foot!'. Yokohama F. Marinos proceeded to a major player out-transfer tonight. The reigning J-League champions announced on the club's official website that a transfer deal was agreed with English Premier League champions Manchester United for central midfielder Yusuke Saeki. Neither Marinos nor Manchester United disclosed the terms of the transfer agreement. However, sources indicate that the transfer fee is estimated to exceed ¥1.5 billion, which would break the record transfer fee involving a J-League player up to this day. Saeki will be the 4th Japanese-born player in the history of Manchester United." the TV host announced as a video was showing Yusuke holding the red shirt with 'SAEKI 16' printed in the back of it. He was standing alongside United's chief executive in Carrington.

"No kidding! He really signed with us." Nana exclaimed.

Astonished, Kakeru then went back to his laptop and used a quick currency converter to see how much money that amount was in British pounds sterling. When the amount was shown, Kakeru went back to his long-distance conversation with Yusuke.

"Did United really pay £9 million to Marinos just for you?" Kakeru asked.

"Yep! United's representatives told that they scouted me for the past 2 years before they made their decision. That's also why my... now former club signed a replacement in midfield earlier today. I'll be joining you guys soon."

"How did you manage to get the transfer done? I've heard that it's very rare for J-League players to sign in Europe in the summer transfer window." Nana asked.

"To be honest, I didn't think too much about leaving Yokohama. But when I heard that United came in the picture with the money, I thought about it. The offer was too much for both me and Marinos to back down. So we accepted the deal, I passed a medical at Bridgewater Hospital earlier today, and I spent time discovering the facilities in Carrington. I will take a plane back to Japan tomorrow."

"I was talking with Nana about our needs in midfield, but I never thought our club would look for one in Japan. We heard nothing about a possible transfer here." Kakeru said.

"I know. The deal was conducted very secretly, and most people were kept in the dark about this. Everything went very smoothly to say the least and I'm glad it went that way. When the J-League's mid-season transfer window opened on Sunday, I was cleared to fly to Manchester and sort a few personal terms before I signed the contract."

"I guess a number of people in the Kanagawa prefecture are disappointed since you were kinda like the local poster boy for Marinos." Nana said.

"I already sent an open letter to Yokohama F. Marinos fans through all media outlets in Japan. I spent plenty of good moments as a member of Yokohama F. Marinos such as winning the Emperor's Cup, winning the J-League Division 1 title twice and winning the AFC Champions League. I'm grateful of the immense support I've had from everyone linked with Marinos. I know they will understand this as the next step in my career. So far, replies on social media have been very positive." Yusuke replied.

"I'm glad to hear it, Yusuke." Kakeru said. "So when are you expected to play for the first time as a Manchester United player?"

"In the second half of the friendly match between Yokohama and United on Sunday night. I play the first half as a Marino, and then the second half as a Red Devil."

"I see. It will stand like a testimonial match for you, am I right?" Nana asked.

"You got that right, Nana. It will be a very emotional moment for me."

"I look forward to it, Yusuke." Kakeru said.

"Me too. See you in training on Saturday, you two." Yusuke replied.

"See you then... and welcome to Manchester United officially." Kakeru finished before ending the live conversation on Skype.

"Wow! He's wearing number 16, just like Roy Keane and Michael Carrick before him!" Nana exclaimed.

"I know. Can you believe it? We have Yusuke on the team!" Kakeru said as he embraced Nana with a mutual feeling of joy on their faces, knowing that the upcoming season will be even more enjoyable with their old friend now being a part of their club.

* * *

Author's comments: If you already read "_Dream or Premonition_", you probably remember why Kakeru and Nana became medical students. If you haven't, please take some time to read it. I'm not a medical student myself, but I took several inspirations through reading of several accounts about medical school and clinical clerkships in Japan. It was very fun for me to do. Although no precise year is definitely indicated in the storyline, you can think it's about over 4-5 years after the main bulk of events in the first story.

As you can imagine, being a fan of English football is the reason why I feel more comfortable using GBP as the currency for transfers. I know some of you will say that £9 million is not much for a quality player and I agree with that. However, it is quite a lot in Japan considering that the highest transfer fee involving a J-League Division 1 player until 2014 was £6.6 million.

Next chapter will probably not come until at least September because of obligations of my own. But I will continue the story and chapters will come out faster as we get deeper into the real season, rest assured.


	3. 02: Start of Preseason

**Chapter 2: Start of Preseason**

**Friday July 21**

**6:40 PM**

Following the last day of Kakeru and Nana's clinical clerkship in July, it was also the beginning of the summer break for most people in Japan. For the occasion, Kakeru, his uncle Shigeru and Nana moved on their way together for a 95-minute drive from Tokyo to Kamakura for a family dinner at the good old Aizawas' House. Knowing they must join the team in Yokohama later in the same evening, Kakeru and Nana also had their luggage in the trunk of the car.

"I'm so happy to be going back home. It feels like it was ages ago since the last time I was in my hometown, especially with the clinical clerkship running." Kakeru said as he was driving the Toyota Aqua on the highway going straight south.

"Same for me, Kakeru-kun. I love doing my part as the owner of the apartment building helping students to find a place to live in Tokyo, but I also sometimes miss the town where I was born." Shigeru said as he was sitting on the passengers' backseat behind Kakeru.

"What made you choose to live in Tokyo when there are also students in Kamakura who'd love to have an apartment owner like you, Uncle Shigeru?"

"Oh, well… For some reason, I find more inspiration in Tokyo for my part-time job as a freelance writer than in Kamakura. It's probably the beauty of the beaches and the sunsets that is a big distraction for me; I can't take my eyes off from them."

"That's a good point." Kakeru replied between chuckles.

"Beaches and beautiful sunsets… That's very reminiscent of our days in high school." Nana said.

"By the way, Nana-chan, I'm trying to write a story about a young woman finding her way in a men's world, but I don't know enough about the psychology of a woman in such conditions. Since I'm drawing a parallel with your own experience in soccer, I was wondering how you got through hardships with the U-21s. It must have been difficult at first with some players being jealous of your skills." Shigeru asked.

"Skills and talent mostly did the talk for me. It was a little hard at first when some of the fellow U-21s played rough, but I never conceded an inch to those who wanted to see me out. I even had to play their game at times to show how tough I am, but no one ever tried anything silly again when they saw my angry self."

"Nana is someone you wouldn't mess around with when she's angry. My friend Kouta knows a lot about it since middle school." Kakeru added.

"But did you have a few moments when you came close to having a mental breakdown, Nana-chan?"

Nana hesitated for a moment before she replied. "A few times, but Kakeru helped me a lot by giving some emotional support... so as a number of friends from the first team, the coaching staff and, of course, Noriko. Having reliable allies who will stand by no matter what was all I needed to help me getting through."

"Ah, I see. It makes quite a basis for a nice story." Shigeru said.

"And long it may continue." Kakeru added.

For just a few more minutes, the drive continued into the residential areas of Kamakura. Finally, everyone arrived at the Aizawas' House, and Kakeru rang the doorbell before Mrs. Aizawa opened the door.

"Kakeru!"

"Good evening, Mom." Kakeru replied with a smile as he embraced his mother.

"It has been quite some time since we last saw you." Mrs. Aizawa said before she turned towards Nana. "You too, Nana-chan. How long has it been?"

"Just too long because of last year's pre-season being played abroad, then the entire season going by, and then the clinical clerkship taking most of our time." Nana replied.

"Hi, Kake-nii! Nana-nee!" Mito, now also a college student, greeted.

"Mito! You made it here too." Kakeru replied as he and Nana also embraced Mito.

"I'm always in to celebrate the beginning of the summer break with the whole family, Kake-nii."

"It has been quite a long time, people. How have you been, Shigeru?" M. Aizawa asked as he finally came in to greet everyone.

"I'm doing well, thanks. When Kakeru-kun told me about tonight, I was not going to say no, Nii-chan." Shigeru replied.

Arriving just behind Kakeru and co. were Nana's parents. The Mishimas were also invited for the evening.

"It looks like we just arrived in time." Mrs. Mishima said.

"Mom! Dad!" Nana exclaimed before she ran into her parents' arms.

"Look at you, Nana. You look great!" Mrs. Mishima said.

"You look ready to go after big glory this year, Nana." M. Mishima added.

"We can't wait to see some action soon." Nana replied.

"Well, come in, everyone. Let's enjoy the evening!" Mrs. Aizawa finished before everyone moved in for the dinner night.

An hour and a half went by as everyone reminisced past experiences and telling a few stories during dinner. It was a very enjoyable evening for both families gathering together for one last time before Kakeru and Nana would go back to club duty with Manchester United on the following day.

"I hope our 2 lovebirds here are not too much for you to handle, Shigeru-san." Mrs. Aizawa said as she referred to Kakeru and Nana.

"No need to worry. I've seen a lot worse among other residents." Shigeru replied before Kakeru and Nana's parents laughed. "Kakeru-kun and Nana-chan take good care of the room when they live there in the summer, so I keep the room clean with the same amount of care when they're abroad."

"Still, I wonder when you'll buy a new and bigger house just for the two of you, Kakeru and Nana-chan. You know... with the wedding coming next year." M. Aizawa asked.

"Not just yet. We have medical school, the upcoming season and a lot more, at least in my case, to think about first before buying a new house. But I promise this day will come." Kakeru replied.

"Well, it's time for a toast. To the day you'll unite your destinies before the priest next summer. May the days ahead be filled with plenty of joy and success." Mrs. Mishima raised her cup of sake.

"Kanpai! (Cheers!)" everyone raised their cups for the drink.

Then the evening carried on until the doorbell rang around 9:45 PM. Mrs. Aizawa went to open the door, and in the frame stood Miwa Shibata.

"Good evening, Aizawa-san." Miwa said.

"Shibata-san, are you in for a drink? I can serve you something if you want, but it's a shame you missed the curry. We could have celebrated your success in extending our kids' contracts at the same time."

"Thanks, but work kept me out tonight, unfortunately." Miwa replied. "I don't want to crash your party, but Kakeru and Nana have to be on their way soon. The Manchester United team already arrived in Yokohama, and the old Dutchman requests both Kakeru-kun and Nana-chan to join the team at the hotel in Yokohama before 11:00 PM. Since I didn't drink anything alcoholic, I'll drive them from here to Yokohama."

"I see. It's a good thing you thought about it." Mrs. Aizawa replied before she turned towards Kakeru and Nana. "Your lift has arrived, you two."

"I'd suggest you two to get changed into your formal wear. The destination is Minato Mirai." Miwa said.

"It won't take us long, Miwa-san." Kakeru replied.

Nearly 10 minutes later, Kakeru and Nana got changed into their Paul Smith tailor-made suits. Each suit included a necktie with the club's colors, a white shirt, black trousers, and a black jacket with Manchester's coat of arms embroidered on the left chest pocket. Mrs. Aizawa and Mrs. Mishima were particularly fond of the uniform worn by their 2 gifted children.

Before Kakeru and Nana were set to leave, both took a moment in front of the altar in Suguru's room on the second floor.

"What do you think, Nii-chan? This is the Manchester United formal wear. It's the first time I'm showing this uniform to you." Kakeru spoke in front of the altar where's Suguru's picture was standing.

"Kakeru and I will join the team in Yokohama together tonight. How do we look, Suguru-san?" Nana added.

After a few seconds of silence, Kakeru said: "Well, we're heading out. Please watch over us for the new season, Nii-chan."

"See you later." Nana finished.

Finally, Kakeru and Nana walked down the stairs. Their relatives were waiting by the entrance door to see the departure.

"Well, I guess it's time to say goodbye then." Kakeru said.

"It was a very good evening. Thanks for putting it up, auntie." Nana said to Mrs. Aizawa.

"Thank you, Nana-chan."

Then Kakeru and Nana took a few moments to hug their parents one last time before they bid goodbye to Mito.

"I hope you'll find a nice boyfriend before next summer." Kakeru said.

"If you find one, just make sure he loves you for who you are... just like us. Nothing else matters." Nana added.

"Being a celebrity's sister doesn't make it easy to find the right boyfriend who's interested in me for the right reasons, but I'll do my best. Thanks for the advice." Mito replied as she hugged both Kakeru and Nana goodbye.

Kakeru then turned towards his uncle one last time. "Please take good care of the Aqua, Uncle Shigeru. I love this little car."

"I promise, Kakeru-kun. Good luck!" Shigeru finished.

Kakeru and Nana loaded their luggage in the trunk of Miwa's car. Finally, the 2 players and their agent were on their way towards Yokohama. From Kamakura to Yokohama's Minato Mirai 21 district, the drive usually takes between 40 and 45 minutes, hence why Miwa came to pick Kakeru and Nana up. Finally, Miwa's car arrived at the 5-star hotel located in Minato Mirai, where the Manchester United team came to spend the next 3 nights in the city.

"Thanks for the ride, Miwa-san. Can you get tickets for our families ahead of Sunday's game?" Kakeru asked.

"I already took care of that, Kakeru-kun. They will enjoy this moment, so just focus on getting on that pitch for them on Sunday." Miwa replied with a wink.

"Sure will." Nana finished.

Carrying their own luggage, Kakeru and Nana walked by a few photojournalists who stood late outside of the hotel to take pictures of the 2 young Japanese footballers arriving. Once inside the much quieter hotel's lobby, Kakeru and Nana met 2 familiar figures waiting for them: Yusuke Saeki and manager Paulus van Saal.

"Yusuke!" Kakeru and Nana exclaimed.

"Hi, you two! How have you been?" Yusuke asked.

"We're doing great, thanks. We're ready to get back into action." Kakeru replied while he and Nana gave high five handshakes to their old friend.

"_Welcome back with the team, young man, and young lady_." Paulus greeted in English with a strong Dutch accent.

"_Thank you, Boss_."

"_Considering your new official status, I'll allow the two of you share a room although with separate beds, of course. Still, I strongly recommend you to avoid any further 'extracurricular' activity for tonight_."

"_Boss_... U kent ons beter dan dat (You know us better than that)." Kakeru replied.

"We kunnen niet wachten tot de training van morgen (We can't wait for tomorrow's training session)." Nana added.

Paulus smiled at the last words. "_Nice to see you're making progress in Dutch, young ones. Of course, I know you two are some of my best professionals; I was just joking. See you tomorrow morning at breakfast_."

"_Thank you. Good night, Boss_." Kakeru said before Paulus left the lobby.

"I didn't know you two speak Dutch." Yusuke was still surprised.

"A little. We learned a few basics a little while ago from Robin. Dutch language has a number of similarities with English." Nana said.

"So if I get this right, Nana, you speak Japanese, English, some Spanish and now some Dutch. Is there another language you're comfortable with?"

"Don't ask too much from me, Yusuke." Nana replied between chuckles.

"Where's the rest of the team?" Kakeru asked.

"They are already in their rooms resting ahead of another big day tomorrow." Yusuke replied.

"I guess we should get some rest too. I'm a little tired" Nana said.

"I agree. Tomorrow's going to be just like starting a new year at school." Yusuke added.

"Bring it on!" Kakeru finished.

* * *

**Saturday July 22**

**7:30 PM**

Since Kakeru and Nana joined Manchester United, the squad changed considerably since Sir Alex's last match in May 2013. The older players made way for a new generation of talented prospects such as Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera, Dutch jack of all trades Daley Blind, Belgian midfielder Adnan Januzaj, and Englishmen such as left-back Luke Shaw, midfielder Benedict Pearce, centre-back Michael Kingsley, left-back T.J. Blackett, and promising striker John Wilson. Players with solid reputations like German centre-back Matthias Köhler, German winger Markus Riese, Spanish midfielder Juan Mata, Argentine defender Marcos Rojo and Argentine midfielder Ángel Di María joined United from other clubs to provide leadership while helping the youngsters to grow. Kakeru and Nana also embodied the change of guard that was initiated after their arrival in England.

On that Saturday, the Manchester United players took part to a number of promotional events and interviews during the day. Later in the evening at International Stadium Yokohama, the team held an open training session for the Japanese fans to see the players in action one day before the friendly match with Yokohama F. Marinos. It was also Yusuke's first day in training with his new club, and he received the loudest cheers from the crowd present in the stadium as expected. However, Yusuke looked a little nervous.

"I guess you're used to cheers in this stadium, Yusuke. What's the matter?" Kakeru asked.

"I have a hard time believing I'm about to train alongside some of the guys I admired as a fan from afar even if we already introduced to each other."

"It's a normal feeling, but it will get back to normal once the first whistle is blown." Nana replied.

"_Just relax, man! It's your turf after all_." Adnan said to Yusuke before the former walked up ahead.

"It's like a first day in school as you said, so make me proud." Kakeru said.

"I will, Mom." Yusuke joked with Kakeru before both laughed out loud.

"_OK, lads. Let's get to work and show the people here how we do things_." Ryan Giggs, now the assistant manager, ordered the players.

And so the training session carried on as normal with very familiar drills and a simulated match. Kakeru and Nana showed they didn't lack match fitness as much as some people would have thought for a first day, much to the coaches' satisfaction. Yusuke also gave a solid performance as a defensive midfielder.

Since Paulus van Saal became the manager, players spend more time working on ball control and quick passing in small areas so they would be encouraged to think really quickly. Educated in the best traditions of Total Football in his homeland of Netherlands, Paulus also brought back the philosophy of proactive attacking football, based on principles of player interchange and hard pressing that were somewhat lost before the Dutchman's arrival. Despite reaching the second half of his 60s, Paulus could be very intense during training as he always urges his players to have absolute team discipline and pay attention to details on the pitch. That intensity reflected the fearlessness, the desire and the determination he wanted from his team. One very important thing for Paulus was to have genuine discussions between manager and player in order to make it clear that the system always comes first. Nevertheless, Paulus knows how to get close to the players while getting the best out of them, especially with youngsters who have great potential.

At the very end of the training session, the coaches moved towards the goal line ahead of the most spectacular drill of all: a shooting competition. The rules for all the players were simple: 1) Receive the coach's pass just outside of the box before loading a long-range shot; 2) score past the goalkeeper and you can take a rest; 3) miss and you wait back in line to have to go again until one unlucky player is standing alone.

"_Think you're ready for this? I would love to see that cannon shot Kakeru told me about_." Dutch striker Robin said.

"_Well, I don't want to steal the spotlight_." Yusuke replied humbly.

"_If Kakeru told us so, we believe him. We'd like to see it_." Juan said.

"You have done this many times before, so enjoy the moment and give one for the fans." Nana added.

"_Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!_" the other players encouraged Yusuke altogether.

"OK!"

After a few players took their first shot, it was Yusuke's turn. From the goal line, Ryan made the pass towards Yusuke. After one first touch just outside the box, the Japanese defensive midfielder unleashed a powerful shot with his left leg, and the ball flew out of the goalkeeper's reach and straight into the top corner. Fans and players alike could only cheer loudly at the stunning end result.

"Great shot, Yusuke!" Kakeru exclaimed.

"Thanks, Kakeru."

"_That was an Exocet!_" English striker John Wilson exclaimed.

"_Fans in Manchester will surely love you if you do that in matches_." Robin added.

"_Well done, boy. Next, come on!_" Paulus ordered the shootout to resume.

The shooting competition continued for a while. Kakeru and Nana scored on their first attempts as well, to the fans' greatest satisfaction. A number of other United players had to take other attempts. Meanwhile, Paulus kept an eye on Yusuke while thinking of the upcoming season. '_With this new Japanese midfielder, we now have both depth and balance to help us go all the way against any other team on any front this year_.'

After the training session was finished, the players left under the applause of the crowd. It was an enjoyable time ahead of what would come 24 hours later.

"So? Not bad for a first. You let no one going past you in the training match and you blasted a nice shot to cheer at." Kakeru said.

"This team... They're a good bunch of guys. I never thought they would make me get comfy that easily." Yusuke replied.

"Kakeru talked about you to many of the lads. They will enjoy being your teammates." Nana said.

"Anyway, just give them a good first impression in the first half before switching sides at halftime, Yusuke." Kakeru added.

"Will do."

A few moments later, Nana spotted Paulus talking to his coaching staff. "_Boss, do you have a moment?_"

"_Yes, Nana, what is it?_"

"_I have a favor to ask you regarding tomorrow's game. It's about something I wished for some time now and it might be the last chance for me to do so_." Nana said.

"_I hope you're not asking too much from me, but I'm listening_." Paulus replied.

Then Nana explained her request. Paulus was a little surprised at first, but he saw how determined Nana was and then accepted the idea. "_I see you're a fierce competitor at heart, and I like that. I should be able to make something out of it_."

"_Thanks, Boss_." Nana finished with a smile.

* * *

**Sunday July 23**

**Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Manchester United (Preseason match 3)**

**International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama, Japan**

Finally, it was the first match of the Japanese part of the preseason tour. Following successive victories against 2 clubs from the Australian A-League the week before, Manchester United considered this friendly match against Yokohama F. Marinos very seriously as a big challenge against the defending J-League champions. It was a great opportunity for the Manchester United players to get closer to top gear ahead of the upcoming season.

In this rather hot summer evening, it was a very special occasion for Kakeru and Nana as they were about to play in front of family and friends, who came from various parts of the Kanagawa prefecture. However, everyone knew this would be first and foremost Yusuke's big night.

"Wow! Look at this big crowd." Mito said.

"I know, Mito. They did a lot of publicity for this match involving Kakeru, Nana-chan and Saeki-kun, so I'm not surprised." Mrs. Aizawa replied.

"Saeki-kun will probably play most of the game, but I'm surprised that Nana-chan is starting the match against him." M. Aizawa said as he looked at the starting lineup displayed on Mito's smartphone.

"She will probably play 30 minutes for a first appearance before she will be replaced. However, she told me a few times that she wanted to square off against her old friend in a match." M. Mishima replied.

"I see. It might be her last chance to do so."

"Indeed, Aizawa-san. Whatever happens, I feel we'll have a great game today." Mrs. Mishima replied.

"Are the Saekis in the attendance? I haven't seen them." Mrs Aizawa asked.

"From what I could get from Kake-nii, they are. However, they are seated a few sections away from us, Mom." Mito replied.

"At least, we will all share this moment." Shigeru finished.

Finally, both teams walked out of the tunnel and towards the pitch under the applause of nearly 70,000 spectators packing the stadium to the rafters. Manchester United came out with red shirts, black shorts and black socks. On the other hand, Yokohama F. Marinos came out with their recognizable blue shirts, white shorts and red socks.

As the visiting team, Manchester United's 4-3-3 lineup was announced first: David de Gea (1) as the goalkeeper; Luke Shaw (3), Jonny Evans (6), Phil Jones (4) and Rafael (2) at the back; Benedict Pearce (24) and Ander Herrera (21) as the 2 deeper midfielders; Ángel Di María (12) and Adnan Januzaj (11) as the wingers running alongside the striker; Nana (7) as the attacking midfielder playing between and slightly ahead of the central midfielders; and acting captain Robin van Persie (20) being the lone central striker.

Both teams shook hands and most of the players moved into their positions. However, Nana and Yusuke spoke a little longer as they were the last players of their respective teams in the handshake line for this match.

"Yusuke, I really wanted to play against you. So don't hold back on me for the next 30 minutes." Nana said.

"Are you sure?"

"Don't hold back at all. I wanna test myself." Nana said again.

"OK, if you ask it. But I'm warning you: I won't hesitate in playing really hard on you." Yusuke replied.

"I never thought you would. So put me to the test, but let's have fun as well." Nana finished with a smile before both players took part to the pre-match photos and then moved into their respective positions.

Just a few seconds later, the referee blew his whistle. Kicking off the match alongside Robin, Nana passed the ball back towards Ander. After a few passes, Adnan received the ball on the left flank. After slightly cutting towards the inside, the Belgian passed the ball across towards Nana in front of the box. However, Yusuke arrived straight in front of her.

"You asked for it. So try me then, Nana." Yusuke said.

Almost without asking, Nana went into the duel and turned to her left before she made a backheel pass towards Robin.

"Fabio!" Yusuke shouted for a teammate's help.

"Van Persie's mine." Yokohama's Brazilian centre-back Fabio replied as he moved in a position to block Robin. With a well-timed tackle, Fabio took the ball away and then passed it to Yusuke running forward. However, Nana was also following Yusuke and entered a shoulder-to-shoulder contest for ball control.

"I won't be easy to shake off." Nana said.

Then Yusuke tried to shake her off with the roulette, but Nana forced Yusuke to stop his turn. Suddenly, Yusuke spotted a teammate in midfield and passed the ball towards him. As Ander rushed towards that midfielder, the latter flicked the pass into Yusuke's run for the give-and-go. Trying to stop Yusuke again with another shoulder contact, Nana was overpowered and pushed to the ground after Yusuke anticipated the challenge. As a result, Yusuke dashed forward and faster on the counterattack.

'He anticipated the challenge.' Nana thought before she called Benedict for defensive support: "_Don't let him through, Ben!_"

However, Yusuke was also strong and quick. He stood his ground against Benedict's challenge with ease and then passed the ball to striker Sho Ito. Trying to get inside the Manchester United box, Sho was blocked by both Rafael and Phil.

"Sho!" Yusuke shouted.

Without any hesitation, Sho quickly passed the ball back into the front of the 18-yard box for Yusuke, who shook off his marker for the split second he needed. Having spotted a shooting lane between both of United's centre-backs, the Japanese midfielder unleashed a powerful shot from his left foot and the ball flew into the net. Suddenly, it was 1-0 for Yokohama F. Marinos and the home team fans erupted to applaud the hero of the night very loudly.

**Stadium announcer****: Goal for Yokohama F. Marinos... number 6, Yusuke Saeki!**

"_Pick up the pace, lads! It's only one goal_." Kakeru shouted from the bench to cheer his teammates up.

Meanwhile, Nana was reflecting on the recent course of events involving Yusuke. 'I won't be able to beat Yusuke that easily. I need to outsmart him and make sure he can't anticipate.'

From that point, the game consisted mainly of Yokohama F. Marinos holding onto the ball and looking more menacing. However, it was expected as United were just beginning preseason while Yokohama were in their mid-season form. Around 12 minutes after the first goal, Yokohama started another attack from their end of the pitch through Yusuke.

"Watch out!" Fabio shouted.

Before Yusuke could react, Nana came in with a strong sliding tackle from the side and sent Yusuke sprawling to the ground, but not without touching the ball legally first. The loose ball went towards Ángel, who then dribbled past an opponent and passed the ball into Adnan's feet as the counterattack proceeded quickly from right wing to left wing.

"_C'mon, Witch!_" Adnan shouted as he passed the ball to Nana, who joined the rush.

As Nana saw the gap between the Yokohama defenders, she immediately fired a one-touch through pass into Robin's path. With only the Yokohama goalkeeper in front, the Dutch striker blasted the shot past the goalkeeper's hands and into the top corner. The score was then tied 1-1 despite protests from a few home supporters regarding Nana's strong but legal tackle.

"_Nice shot, Robin_." Nana said as all the players in red celebrated.

"_Nice tackle and nice pass too_."

Walking back towards back towards her own half alongside her teammates under the cheers of the thousands of Japanese United supporters, Nana's gaze met Yusuke's. "So, are you up to the challenge?" Nana asked.

"Playtime's over, Nana." Yusuke replied with a smile.

From that point on, both teams were equally matched as the intensity reached new levels with back and forth action. Nana created chances for teammates and put a shift in with a few important tackles supporting her midfield teammates too. Meanwhile, Yusuke responded with many interceptions and tackles of his own. Nana and Yusuke's high competitiveness levels created excellent 1v1 duels. In the 29th minute, Nana led the charge into the Yokohama half for her team.

"Come on, Nana! Go!" Mrs. Mishima shouted from her seat.

On the counterattack, Nana came face to face with Yusuke again. "Time's almost up, Nana." Yusuke said as he reminded her of the 30-minute deadline signaling the end of her first preseason appearance.

"It's not over yet." Nana replied before she pulled the roulette move. Yusuke shifted his own body in anticipation, but was suddenly fooled by a second turn in the opposite direction as Nana completed the second phase of her Witch Turn.

"Damn it!" Yusuke cursed as he stuck both a leg and an arm out in a quick reflex move to stop Nana at all costs. As a result, Nana got brought down 20 yards from goal and was awarded a direct free kick. With the wall moving 10 yards behind the location of the ball as indicated by the referee, Nana and Robin discussed about the strategy.

"Deze is van mij (This one's mine)." Nana said in Dutch, making sure the opposition couldn't understand a word.

"Laat zien gewoon dat, Seven (Show them just that, Seven)."

When the referee blew his whistle, Robin made the run. A few Yokohama players in the wall jumped in anticipation of a shot from Robin's deadly left foot. However, Robin stepped over the ball and then cleared the way to the left as Nana was also running on the other side. With one strike of Nana's right foot, the ball flew quickly over the wall with a strong bend and a dip that left the Yokohama goalkeeper standing flatfooted. With the shot hitting the inside of the crossbar and into the back of the net, Nana got the whole stadium cheering at the sheer quality of the free kick that gave United a 2-1 lead at the half-hour mark.

"What a shot, Nana-nee!" Mito exclaimed.

"That's my girl!" M. Mishima shouted happily.

After Nana celebrated the goal with her teammates while Yusuke could only shake his head with a little smile in front of the beauty of the goal, Paulus proceeded with the substitution as it was planned for the half-hour mark.

**Stadium announcer****: Substitution for Manchester United... number 7, Nana Mishima, is replaced by number 8, Juan Mata**.

Upon returning to the bench after bidding good luck to her Spanish teammate, Nana was greeted with high-fives by the other substitutes and then with a hug from Kakeru. "That was a great 30 minutes, Seven." Kakeru said.

"Thanks, but I wish I had more although I understand the Gaffer's decision."

"Not too bad for a match-up against Yusuke. How was it to play against him?"

"He's one of the toughest opponents I've ever faced, Kakeru. I'm glad I held my ground very well, but he's the only one quick enough to take me down so quickly after a Witch Turn. I will feel a lot better to have him with us rather than against us." Nana replied.

For the rest of the first half, both teams continued their display of end-to-end action although United held their ground a lot better than earlier. However just before halftime, Yokohama tied the score at 2-2 on a corner kick from Yusuke who found Sho going in with a powerful header.

In the dressing room at halftime:

"_OK, people. We knew they would come out as strong as this because of their current form in their season, but we picked up the pace and took the game to them. They scored on that last corner after we went ahead, so it's important to stay focused. Push them back in the second half. Plus, we now have the newcomer with us in the squad_." Paulus said to his players before he turned towards the door. "_Come in, Yusuke_."

"_Oi oi! There he is_." Luke announced as Yusuke made his way in the dressing room.

"_I hope I didn't drive anyone mad in the first half, did I?_" Yusuke asked.

"_Not at all. You played like a top professional out there like anyone here would do. Come on, we have your kit ready_." Robin replied.

After Yusuke shook a few hands, he went to his assigned place in the dressing room and contemplated his new number 16 shirt hanging in his locker.

"Put it on. Are you going to stay there all evening?"

"Sure, Kakeru." Yusuke replied before he turned towards Nana. "That was a good 30 minutes out there. I see why people rate you so highly, Nana."

"Thanks. I hope you're not angry about the way I accepted your challenge." Nana said.

"Nope. In fact, I wanted to see that and it was OK as long as it wasn't too dangerous." Yusuke said as he was changing shirts.

"After such a first half, let's give the fans something to remember in the second half as well." Kakeru finished.

* * *

When both teams came back on the pitch, all the supporters in the stands looked towards the players' tunnel and anticipated the long awaited moment. Yusuke emerged out from the tunnel with the Manchester United kit on before he received a long ovation from the crowd. In response, the Kanagawa-born midfielder waved his hand up to acknowledge the support of everyone who were, are and will still be his fans.

**Stadium announcer****: Substitution for Manchester United... number 21, Ander Herrera, is replaced by number 16, Yusuke Saeki. Substitution for Marinos... number 6, Yusuke Saeki, is now replaced by number 24, Takeshi Matsumoto**.

After giving a double high-five to Ander on the touchline, Yusuke shook hands with Yokohama's young replacement, Takeshi, as both were about to get into action.

"Good luck out there. I hope I can work hard enough to be as good as you for Marinos." Takeshi said.

"Thanks. No need to think about emulating my game. Just work hard to play your own style and become a force with it. That's how you'll make a name for yourself." Yusuke replied before both players moved into their respective positions.

In all, both teams made several changes at halftime and only very few starters remained on the pitch. Among the players coming on, Kakeru joined forces with John as the front 2 in a different formation, the 3-5-2.

When Kakeru was announced to the crowd and then walked on the pitch, the Japanese supporters in the stadium stood up and cheered for a couple of minutes; the little striker is always considered by the Japanese supporters as one of their own whatever club he plays for.

"_You're quite the star here_." John said

"_It's not like I asked to be, but yes indeed_." Kakeru replied.

"You feel like having a goal in you tonight?" Yusuke asked.

"Absolutely! Let's give them what they want." Kakeru finished.

Finally, Yokohama kicked things off in the second half. Because of the many substitutions typical of a friendly match, both teams found it hard to gain any momentum. In the 55th minute, United initiated the attack. After a few passes, the ball went to Yusuke. United's new Japanese midfielder passed forward to Juan, but the Spanish midfielder was strongly tackled from behind by Takeshi. Fortunately for United, the referee gave the advantage as the loose ball went into Kakeru's feet. Shaking off his markers for a few seconds towards the sidelines, Kakeru stopped and turned back towards the inside of the field. Although the Yokohama players went back into defensive positions, Kakeru glanced at the goal and then suddenly unleashed a long-range scorcher that appeared to be flying towards the top corner of the goal. However, the Yokohama goalkeeper jumped and stretched just enough to deflect the shot out of danger.

"OOOOOOHHH!" the whole crowd shouted as everyone jumped out of their seats for a second. The last action by Kakeru almost produced a moment of magic.

"What a shot!" Shigeru exclaimed.

"I thought that was in." Mrs. Aizawa added.

"Kakeru-kun doesn't try often from distance, but he sure can score some." M. Mishima said as well.

"KAKERU! KAKERU! KAKERU!" Mito shouted alongside thousands of supporters showing their appreciation of the last attempt on goal.

"_Nice try, Kakeru_." Juan said.

"_Still, I won't settle down only with that, Juan. I promised someone that I will score a goal_."

"_A certain lady, I presume?_" John asked slyly.

"_No, it's for someone who's a lot younger and loves football_." Kakeru replied.

Around 3 minutes later, another Yokohama attack was stopped in the tracks by Yusuke, now a Manchester United player. Having retrieved the loose ball at the back, young Michael Kingsley launched a pass forward and into Juan's path on the counterattack. The Spaniard sent what seemed to be a pass towards Kakeru, who noticed Yokohama's Fabio standing in front of him as well as John on his left. Knowing what to do in this situation, Kakeru let the pass roll towards John, who then proceeded with a one-touch through pass into Kakeru's run. Having lost Kakeru for a split second, Fabio was caught off guard and Kakeru slipped behind the defense. With a well-placed shot past the goalkeeper and into the bottom corner of the net, it was suddenly 3-2 for Manchester United and the thousands of Japanese United supporters jumped out of their seats in celebration.

"ATTABOY, KAKE-NII!" Mito exclaimed.

"That was a great setup play all day long!" Shigeru said.

"Kakeru and that English striker, Wilson, knew what they were doing." Mrs. Aizawa added.

Meanwhile on the Manchester United bench:

"Great goal, Kakeru!" Nana shouted as she and Kakeru exchanged peace signs with a smile.

"_We are really blessed to have both of you in good form with us. He will be ready for the season a lot sooner than expected_." Robin said to Nana as both watched the action from the touchlines.

"_We should thank to the fitness coaches for their summer training programs, Robin. They deserve a lot of credit_."

"_True, but you're the ones doing the job by sticking to the plan_." Robin finished.

From that point forward, the rest of the game was mostly in Manchester United's favor as the team from the Northwest of England was energized by Kakeru's leadership on the attack. The Japanese striker in red, galvanized by the joy of playing in his home prefecture, scored another goal in the 72nd minute on a long and accurate feed from Yusuke, set up a header goal for Michael on a corner kick in the 75th minute, and then earned an assist on John's only goal of the night on a swift counterattack in the 80th minute. Takeshi scored the last goal of the match for the home side by converting a late penalty in the second half. Nevertheless, the final result was unavoidable.

PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEEEEP!

The final whistle was blown as Manchester United finally prevailed by a score of 6-3 over Yokohama F. Marinos. Everyone stood up to applaud both teams for displaying a great show on the pitch.

"That was a very entertaining game." Mito said.

"I'm not sure the old Dutchman will be all happy with the defending at times though. Kakeru told he's meticulous about it in training." M. Aizawa replied.

"Nevertheless, we should be happy that both Nana and Kakeru-kun were in good form tonight." Mrs. Mishima said.

"Yeah. Hats off to them tonight. They will be ready for the season." Shigeru finished.

On the pitch, players from both teams shook hands in respect to the sportsmanship of this friendly match. Subbed off in the 75th minute, Yusuke exchanged shirts and words of good luck with Takeshi. Meanwhile, Sho was shaking hands with Kakeru.

"Nice game, Aizawa-san. If you want, it would be an honor to exchange shirts with you." Sho said.

"In normal time, I would never decline such a request. However, I thought of giving this shirt to a young kid. He's a little sick right now, but he will be fine. It's just that..."

"Oh, I see. This is a very nice gesture as well. Good luck in the upcoming season."

"Good luck for the rest of your season too, Ito-san." Kakeru replied before both strikers went to their separate ways. Kakeru was then joined by Nana and Yusuke.

"What will you do with your shirt?" Yusuke asked.

"I'll give it to a child at the hospital where I worked in my clerkship. I'll also get all of the players' autographs on it." Kakeru replied.

"I'm pretty sure he will be very happy about it." Nana said.

As he promised to himself, Kakeru got his shirt signed by all of his teammates before he went to Tokyo Medical University Hospital on the following day and gave the signed shirt to Toshio. The young recovering patient in the nephrology department was the happiest kid in Japan. Meanwhile, the stop in Yokohama was just the beginning of a very memorable preseason tour for the Japanese players in red.

* * *

Author's comments: For those of you who follow English football, you probably guessed that Paulus van Saal is a fictional character that is loosely modeled after **Louis van Gaal**. A number of players keep their real names, but others received fictional names while their characters are based on real players – mainly current youngsters. Ángel Di María wears number 12 in this universe for simplicity.

Regarding Matthias Köhler and Markus Riese, both are fictional characters whose styles and appearance are strongly inspired respectively by real-life defender **Mats Hummels** and **Marco Reus**. As much as I want Hummels and/or Reus to join United one day, I'm also realistic. Nevertheless, it was planned that I would include an experienced German center-back to be the new general at the back and another winger.

If you have noticed, I haven't added **Radamel Falcao**'s name here. I did so because I wanted Kakeru to keep the number 9 in this fictional reality as it happens in a few years from now.


	4. 03: Sea of Red in Saitama

**Chapter 3: Sea of Red in Saitama**

Following their victory in Yokohama, Manchester United continued their preseason tour of Japan with a Shinkansen ride to Nagoya. Once there, the players went to visit places like Nagoya Castle, the Osu Kannon temple and the nearby shopping district. Even for Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke, it was the perfect moment to discover a different corner of Japan they never saw before.

Following a day of rest and further exploration of Japanese culture in Nagoya, the team went back to training on the day before their match against Nagoya Grampus. The hard work that was done in training to tighten the defensive side of the team's game appeared to pay off as United defeated Grampus on July 26 by a final score of 4-0 in front of a full capacity crowd at Toyota Stadium. Kakeru and Nana both started the match and played the first 60 minutes, in which Kakeru scored the opening goal and then joined forces with Nana in a spectacular pass-and-move play between both players leading to Wayne Rooney's 2-0 goal.

After the match against Nagoya, the Manchester United team traveled back to the Tokyo Metropolitan Area as the final match of the preseason tour of Japan was set to be played against J-League's leading club at the time, Urawa Red Diamonds. For the Japanese players involved with Manchester United, they knew it would be everything but an easy affair in Saitama.

* * *

**Saturday July 29**

**Urawa Red Diamonds vs. Manchester United (Preseason match 5)**

**Saitama Stadium 2002, Saitama, Japan**

As the Manchester United team bus made its way on the Tohoku Expressway, en route to the stadium in late afternoon, Kakeru was thinking hard about the upcoming match as the fixture was about to be special for personal reasons.

"_Hey, Kakeru. Still thinking about those 2 players you talked about?_" Juan asked.

"_Yep! Kaoru Matoba and Michirou Takase are 2 of my best friends since our days in the same high school team. I knew I might play a friendly game against them one day, but I never thought it would be this soon. I'm really excited_."

"_When they played with Kakeru to make the front 3, they were almost invincible together. That's why I'm sure the other side wants to perform well tonight_." Nana added to Kakeru's reply.

"_Well, I'd be happy if they give us a run for our money. We never back down from a challenge at all_." Juan said.

After Juan went back to his seat, Yusuke joined Kakeru and Nana in the conversation. "I guess it feels as if it was just yesterday that Matoba-san and Takase-san were still your classmates and teammates at Enoshima."

"It sure does. We are still in our early 20s after all." Kakeru replied.

"I am under the impression that they made great progress based on what I saw on DVD, but it's hard to tell when I haven't faced them on a regular basis. Do you think they have made enough progress to be part of the national team?" Nana asked.

"If not for now, I think their time will come soon. They may not have that kind of international experience yet, but I would never rule them out since our current national coach has good faith in young players." Yusuke said.

"I hope they will make it through, Yusuke. I would be very happy to see them having a crack at the national team." Kakeru replied.

"Me too, Kakeru. They are both proud competitors with skills that not many Japanese representatives have after all after all."

Finally, the bus left the expressway and arrived at Saitama Stadium. For almost 2 hours, the players prepared themselves for this important match as it was a last chance to make an impression for some, or a chance to solidify their starting positions for others. Paulus told Kakeru that he would be playing for the whole match. Juan and Nana were also summoned to start the match, providing the creative spark for Kakeru to shine in a 4-3-3 formation.

Just before leaving the Manchester United dressing room for the match, Paulus made one final speech to his players: "_People, this is the last game of our tour in the Far East. I don't think I need to remind everyone about what is at stakes tonight. But still, you made good progress as a group, and that's something you can all be proud of. Tonight… Urawa Red Diamonds. You know the drill; you have worked hard for this. Watch out for the big number 19; he's faster than you think. The little number 23 is a trickster, but he's not pushed around that easily, so stay focused. And when you get the ball, pass and move quickly. Their defenders won't be able to keep up with us. Yes?_"

"_YES, BOSS!_" all players replied in unison.

In the players' tunnel, Kakeru and Nana stood by Kaoru (number 23) and Michirou (number 19) as both teams were waiting for the referee's signal to walk forward.

"Hi, Kakeru! How are you doing?" Kaoru asked.

"Doing great so far. I've heard you and Takase are quickly becoming fan favorites in Saitama." Kakeru replied while hugging his friend.

"We had our break last season and we made the most of it, thanks to the coach." the tall Japanese forward, Michirou Takase, said. "Looks like you're ready for the new season, Nana-chan."

"Thanks, but I will only feel ready for sure when we'll face Arsenal in 8 days." Nana replied as she shook hands with the former Enoshima giant.

"I see. Still, I hope you won't take us lightly. We are ready to play tonight."

"I have no doubt about that, Takase. Just give it all, Enoshima Tower." Nana replied.

"E… Enoshima Tower?" Takase froze at the words just like he used to in his high school days.

"Oh… Sorry." Nana apologized.

"I see he's still not used to being called that way." Kakeru said to Kaoru.

"We better avoid using that nickname at all costs." Kaoru finished.

When both teams arrived on the pitch for kickoff, they were greeted by mass choreography, tifos, chants and relentless flag waving that are typical of the intimidating atmosphere that illustrates why Urawa Red Diamonds have some of the most passionate supporters in the world, especially in the ultras' end of the stadium. The vast majority of the 63,000 spectators, Urawa and United fans alike, wore red shirts, giving the impression that Saitama Stadium was a sea of red for the occasion. The most resounding sound in the stadium at the time was the terrace chant named "Pride of Urawa", which uses a mix of French, English and Japanese lyrics.

**ALLEZ OH, ALLEZ OH,**

**ALLEZ OH, ALLEZ-OLÉ-ALLEZ-OH,**

**ALLEZ OH, ALLEZ OH,**

**ORETACHI NO URAWA REDS.**

**URAWA REDS, URAWA REDS,**

**URAWA REDS, URAWA REDS,**

**URAWA REDS, URAWA REDS,**

**PRIDE OF URAWA REDS.**

While the Urawa players wore kits that looked almost identical to the Manchester United home kit (red shirt, white shorts, black socks), the team from England wore its full blue away kit for this match. As Urawa Reds were using a 4-3-3 formation, Juan was standing right in front of Kaoru as opposite wide attacking midfielders before kickoff.

'Juan Mata... I've been watching him for many years now. Here's my chance to show that I belong in the same league as he does.' Kaoru thought

'_He's as small as I am, but he has fire in his eyes. He's not intimidated at all_.' Juan thought.

Meanwhile, Nana and Takase had their gazes locked into each other's.

"It's not today that you'll make a fool out of me again, Nana-chan."

"I never backed down from a physical challenge, either in training or in a match, Takase. Go ahead then."

Finally, the referee blew his whistle for kickoff. In the center circle, Kakeru passed the first ball backwards to Ander while the 63,000+ crowd roared in excitement.

In the first 5 minutes, United controlled most of the game by passing and moving the ball around while launching sudden attacks, all thwarted by the Urawa defenders until the 6th minute. At that time, United launched another attack after Jonny intercepted a loose ball, then passing to Luke, to Ander and then through for Nana running down the right side. Having gone past Urawa's defender down that flank and starting to cut inside the box, Nana sent a low cross that appeared destined for Kakeru.

"Don't think about it!" one of Urawa's center-backs said as he and his partner rushed to stop any attempt from Kakeru.

However, knowing he lured 2 defenders by himself, Kakeru made a small heel pass backwards for Juan instead of taking a shot. Cutting his run inside the box and behind Kakeru, Juan ran with the ball past the goalkeeper while making the latter fall on the wrong side. With the goal gaping, Juan easily opened the score for the visitors.

"_Nice goal, Juan_." Kakeru congratulated his Spanish teammate.

"_Thanks, Knight! That pass was very clever too_."

"_Let's grab another one, guys_." Nana said after she joined the celebration.

In the stands, Hikaru, Chisa and the rest of Kakeru's fellow medical students were also watching the match.

"That was superb by Kakeru and Nana-chan." Hikaru said.

"Amazing indeed." Chisa replied.

"Confidence is running high between them." Shunsuke said.

"That's the gap of class between them and most players in the J-League. Our national teams are fortunate to have players like Kakeru and Nana." Daisuke added.

"It looks like they're always hungry for more when they play." Hikaru finished.

However, Urawa Reds found a little bit of life only 3 minutes later. Starting with a pass forward from midfield towards Kaoru arriving in the opposite direction, he made a quick sombrero flick over Luke and then made a U-turn at full speed to follow the ball. Having caught Luke flatfooted and creating panic in the Manchester United defense, Kaoru waited the perfect moment and then sent a high ball across towards Takase's head. The former Enoshima giant struck a powerful header that was saved, but only just saved by United's goalkeeper deflecting the ball out of play with his fingertips.

"_Sorry, Sam. That number 23 got me burned there_." Luke apologized to his goalkeeper, who is the backup goalkeeper in normal time.

"_C'mon, lads! We need to mark those 2 players really tight_." Sam ordered to all of his defenders.

On the following corner kick, the ball struck Takase's head again, but was forced to hit it high and wide because of the tighter marking from United's defenders. Nevertheless, it was a clear warning which said that Urawa Reds would not give up without putting a fight.

In the 21st minute, both teams had their share of ball possession although United were the better side at keeping the ball. However, United conceded an indirect free kick in their territory as Benedict fouled Kaoru 40 yards from goal. On the following free kick, Kaoru sent the ball high towards the mass of players. Having lost his marker, Takase headed the ball perfectly into the top corner of the net and equalized the score at 1-1, sending the local supporters inside Saitama Stadium into frenzy.

While Takase was congratulated by Kaoru and his teammates, Sam was livid again at the poor man-marking on Takase by the defenders.

"_Bollocks! What are you guys doing?_" Sam shouted angrily.

On the touchline, Paulus had a stern look towards the players on the pitch before he wrote something in his notebook, of which all the notes would be used later to explain his players where the problems were.

Then Ander was trying to rally his teammates. "_C'mon, lads! It's only 1-1. We push hard and get back on top_."

"We need to capitalize on our chances because they will if we don't." Kakeru said to Nana.

"Yeah. Pass and move quickly; that's the key." Nana replied.

Just 3 minutes later, Urawa were on the attack again as Kaoru tried to attack down his flank. This time, Luke did not flinch and forced Kaoru to make his move first. Kaoru crossed the ball towards the front of the Manchester United box for Urawa's main striker, Tadanari Lee, but the pass was intercepted by Nana, who provided extra support at the back.

From there, Nana passed the ball to Jonny, who then sent it forward to Luke. The English left-back then passed to Benedict, who followed with a one-touch pass towards Juan. The Spanish attacking midfielder ran with the ball for 20 yards before he sent a quick through pass for Kakeru in the box. Because the pass went a little too close to the Urawa goalkeeper and despite Kakeru's shot attempt, the ball bounced off the goalkeeper and away. Fortunately for United, Ander dashed at the right time to collect the follow-up and score the 2-1 goal with a shot from outside the box.

"_Nice shot, Ando._" Kakeru congratulated.

"_We should really thank Seven instead. She's the one who started it all_." Ander replied before he turned towards Nana. "_You did a great play at the back, Seven_."

"_Thanks, Ando. I'm not just an attacking-minded player_." Nana replied.

Following the first 25 minutes of the match, Urawa then chose to use for a more conservative approach as they sat for most of the time in their territory although United had a couple more scoring chances. While Urawa had a few counterattacks at the same time, the Manchester United team under Paulus van Saal was excellent at attacking the ball carrier, retrieving the ball, and counterattacking swiftly. However, both teams nullified each other's attacks and counterattacks. As a result, not much happened until the halftime whistle.

* * *

In the Manchester United dressing room at halftime:

"_OK, the plan is simple in the second half: keep the tempo high. The thing is... when I told you to keep eyes open on the 19 and the 23, there was a reason for it. They burned us a few times too often, so it must stop. If you face the 23, never make the first move, anticipate, and cut his passing options. The big 19 is a problem, but his luck will end here_." Paulus addressed to his players before he turned his gaze towards one of the substitutes. The substitute in question was a tall Caucasian man with brown hair, brown eyes and a distinctive musketeer beard.

"_Matthias, you're ready for a big challenge?_" Paulus asked.

Matthias Köhler, one of the best defenders in the world and a German international, said: "_Always. So what's the plan, Boss?_"

"_Same thing as most of the time. If the big 19 comes by the box, you follow him like a shadow. On their corners, you stick with him. You start the second half._" Paulus replied.

"_OK, Boss. He's mine_."

After the halftime talk, the Manchester United players went back to their halftime habits such as re-hydrating themselves with energy drinks, eating bananas or energy bars to get that extra energy. As they did so, Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke discussed about that Matthias' upcoming introduction into the game.

"If the Boss brings Matthias on now, that means playtime is over for Urawa." Nana said to Yusuke.

"I agree. Whenever I see him on TV, he always looks like a rock at the back."

"At 192 cm (6'4") and 90 kg (198 lbs) with the power he has for a player in his prime, I'm afraid Takase won't be able to do anything against him." Kakeru said. "Although Matthias only played his first 30 minutes the other day against Nagoya because of the extended summer vacation he was allowed, the Boss had no hesitation in making the call at all. It shows you how serious the Boss can be if he feels that some players are not playing well."

"It's the first time I feel the Boss being unhappy. Knowing his reputation, I hope I'll never end on the wrong side of him." Yusuke asked.

"Nevertheless, he knows how to say the right thing just like Sir Alex Ferguson used to do." Kakeru replied. "Don't worry. He's one of the best motivators I've ever seen and he will always defend you as long as you do your job with an exemplary attitude."

Meanwhile in the home team's dressing room:

The Urawa coach addressed to his players: "We got out of the first half down only by a goal, but we have shown them that we can keep our composure and hit them on the counterattack. They will bring on other players, but the plan remains the same: stay compact and hit them on the counterattack. This is the real test, gentlemen. Understood?"

"YES SIR!" the Urawa players replied.

"Show me what you can do in the second half."

Minutes later, both teams came back out onto the pitch under the cheers from the few tens of thousands Urawa Reds supporters as hopes of a comeback were still there. While Urawa Red Diamonds made a couple of tactical changes, all eyes turned towards the 2 Manchester United substitutes as they were announced to the crowd. Matthias replaced one of the 3 central defenders while team captain Wayne Rooney replaced Juan, meaning that United changed the setup into a more attacking 3-5-2 formation with Nana piloting behind the 2 strikers at the start of the second half.

"Oh dear... Is Van Saal really serious?" Kaoru asked out loud.

"What do you mean?" Takase followed with a question.

"I expected Wayne Rooney to come on and partner Kakeru in the second half, but it looks like they have also decided to send their best defender against you now instead of waiting the 60th minute. Matthias Köhler, one of leaders of the German Nationalmannschaft."

"How much should I worry about him, Kaoru?" Takase asked.

"A lot, I'd say. Physical and aerial play, well-timed tackles, good positioning, solid man-marking, ball control, top notch defensive and offensive awareness… he's one of the best defenders in the world. Just play wisely against him and save your energy."

"Try not to think too much about your opponents, you two. This is where you'll lose focus." The Urawa captain said.

"Yes, captain." Kaoru and Takase replied together before they went back to their respective positions for the start of the second half. Following Urawa's tactical changes, Takase was moved to the centre-forward position.

As Urawa kicked off the second half, the home team passed the ball around for a few seconds before it went to Kaoru. Having spotted Takase in a good position, Kaoru sent the ball high so it would go behind United's back line. As Takase expected to receive the ball, Matthias appeared almost out of nowhere to cut the pass with a clearing header a split second before both players ran into each other and fell. The referee blew his whistle to call a free kick against Takase, but Matthias got up almost immediately as he absorbed the impact better than Takase did.

When Takase got up a couple of seconds later, he then realized how strong his new opponent was. 'Kaoru was right. He is a very tough guy.' Takase thought.

* * *

In the 50th minute, Urawa started a counterattack after absorbing United's pressure. One of Urawa's midfielders spotted Takase running and then passed towards him as it appeared Takase could break away towards the goal on his own. However, Matthias cut straight towards Takase's path and then hit the ball with a sliding tackle before the tall Japanese forward could reach it. Suddenly, that tackle also became a long pass forward down the flank to Kakeru, who followed the last Urawa defender closely to beat the offside trap. As Kakeru ran down the side and started cutting inside the box, he waited until the Urawa defender was committed before making a pass across for Nana to shoot. Unfortunately for her, the shot was blocked by another defender and flew out on the side for a throw.

Nana looked up at the sky as she knew how big of a chance that was missed. "I should have buried that." she said out loud.

"Don't worry about that, Seven. We'll get that 3rd goal." Kakeru replied to Nana before he turned to give the thumbs-up to Matthias for the previous defensive play that created the turnover.

After the following throw, the Manchester United midfielders passed the ball around for a few seconds before Ander pushed towards the box and then passed the ball to Nana down the flank. Nana sent a cross into the box, only to be deflected behind the goal line by a defender. On the following corner kick, Nana sent a high ball towards the near post before Matthias made contact with the ball on his head in front of Takase. As the header shot went across the face of goal and appeared to miss the net, Kakeru jumped out of nowhere between 2 defenders and threw his right foot high enough to make contact with the ball only 2 yards away from goal. Suddenly, Kakeru's blast was a deadly finish as he increased his team's lead at 3-1.

The thousands of Manchester United supporters wearing red in the stadium as well as all Manchester United substitutes jumped out of their seats in jubilation. In response, Kakeru celebrated with a Miroslav Klose-style front flip after he ran for a short distance.

"Great goal, Kakeru!" Nana exclaimed after she jumped on Kakeru's back for a small piggyback ride in the celebration.

"Thanks. Good thing you found Matthias first."

"_Way to go, Knight_." Matthias said as he hugged Kakeru.

"_Great jump too to beat Takase in the air, Matthias. I don't know many players who can jump higher than him_."

Meanwhile, in the stands:

"Kakeru's on fire. If I get my numbers right, he's now on 4 goals in 3 matches." Hikaru said.

"He made that goal look so easy, Hikaru. It was a great effort." Chisa replied.

"After what we saw today, he will be unstoppable if he carries on like that." Shunsuke finished.

From that moment forward, Urawa tried to get one goal back by pushing numbers forward while the Urawa supporters never stopped making noise to support their team. However, the well-drilled Manchester United team also put up a shift defensively.

Every single time the ball went towards Takase, Matthias and his fellow defenders succeeded in clearing the ball out or retrieving the ball to launch the counterattack. On Urawa's corner kicks, Takase was unable to make a difference because he was forced to miss his chances, thanks to Matthias' years of experience in European and international football. Furthermore, United's third goalkeeper, a young Serbian who's 202 cm (6'7") tall, had a better time in containing aerial threats than Sam did in the first half. To make things worse, Takase was getting exhausted rather quickly after going into so many physical duels against the German international.

Having been replaced in the 60th minute alongside with other starters in favor of the remaining substitutes, including Yusuke and Argentine superstar Ángel Di María, Nana watched Takase and Kaoru's performances from the bench. She noticed how Matthias' introduction had such a huge impact on Takase's performance.

'Since the restart, Takase hit a wall. I can't say I'm surprised since he never met an opponent like Matthias in the J-League. For Takase's own good, it would be better if his coach pulls him out soon. But then, I can only imagine what Kaoru will have to endure with Matthias in his face later.' Nana thought.

* * *

In the 66th minute, Kaoru tried to find a passing option from down his right flank, but found none. Totally isolated and pushed around by young defender T.J. Blackett, Kaoru had to pass the ball back to his teammate in midfield. However as that Urawa midfielder tried to pass the ball back to Kaoru, Yusuke intercepted the ball and then flicked it to Ángel, who then picked a long ball forward for the running Wayne. Once Wayne got himself a little deeper inside the box, he waited for support as he didn't have a good shooting angle. With Kakeru covered by a defender and Ángel cutting into a better shooting position, Wayne passed the ball to the Argentine. Fortunately for Urawa, one of the many defenders threw his body in the way as Ángel took the shot, and the ball flew behind for a corner kick.

"Mierda! (Sod it!)" Ángel exclaimed in disbelief.

"_You scored one like that against Nagoya the other night. He just got lucky there, that's all_." Kakeru said.

As both teams were ready for the corner kick, everyone anticipated Wayne to hit it long into the mass of players. However instead of hitting a long kick, Wayne made a shorter pass on the ground to Ángel, who took advantage of the slight confusion to cross a high ball into the box. Waiting at the very end of the pass was Matthias, who overpowered Takase and another Urawa defender in the air before striking the ball with a powerful header to make it 4-1 for the visitors from Manchester.

"_Great header, Matthias!_" Nana exclaimed from the bench as she watched her teammates on the pitch celebrating around the big German.

"_Yeah! C'MON!_" Juan shouted before he turned towards Nana. "_He made it look so easy_."

"_I'm really glad for him and for all of us_." Nana replied.

"_I don't think Urawa will recover from that now_."

"_You're right, Juan. I look at their big number 19, and he's out of gas_." Nana replied as she watched the exhausted Takase being replaced by another player. She felt sorry for her friend and opponent for the night as the physical challenge proposed by her German teammate was just too much to handle.

Despite the 3-goal deficit, a few Urawa players continued pushing forward in an attempt to save some honor. In the 73rd minute, Kaoru used his entire arsenal of dribbles and got past United defender T.J. Blackett inside the box. In a move of instinct, the Manchester native grabbed Kaoru and pulled him down. The referee called the penalty without any hesitation, much to the scarce joy of the hardcore Urawa supporters.

"_I'm sorry, guys_." T.J. apologized to his teammates, who had no complaint at all against the referee's decision.

"_Don't worry. It's all right_." Matthias comforted his younger teammate.

Stepping up to the spot was the Urawa Reds' captain. He easily converted the penalty after he sent Manchester United's Serbian goalkeeper in the wrong direction, but the score was still well in favor of Manchester United at 4-2. As good leaders, Wayne and Matthias had a quick talk with all of their 9 other teammates to make sure no one gets complacent.

With a 2-goal deficit to take back, Urawa pushed more men forward. It was so much that their defenders were playing a very high line, exposing themselves to quick counterattacks. That mistake proved to be fatal in the 77th minute as Yusuke intercepted a pass before launching the ball forward towards Kakeru, dashing in full speed from the center line with no one following him.

"C'mon Kakeru!" Nana shouted from the bench.

"He's all alone and no one can catch him!" Hikaru exclaimed as he watched from the stands.

"There's Di María coming on his right too." Chisa said as she pointed towards the other United player charging unopposed towards the Urawa Reds' goal.

With 2 players charging against the goalkeeper, there was not much to be done. Kakeru made most of the run before he let the goalkeeper move forward and then make a little pass to Ángel, who only had to tap the ball in for the 5-2 goal. In response, the Urawa supporters applauded with the greatest of respects while the Japanese United supporters celebrated.

The rest of the game went on with both teams playing dropping the tempo. Kaoru was the only one of his team who was still trying his hardest, but Matthias shifted his marking on the former Enoshima trickster. Kaoru's frustrating night could be summed in the 85th minute up when Matthias beat him for the ball with a hard and well-timed tackle that sent Kaoru sprawling. Kaoru raised his arms in disbelief when the referee didn't call the foul. In all, it was a difficult learning curve for both Takase and Kaoru.

PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEP!

Finally, the referee announced the end of the match. For Manchester United, it was 5 wins out of 5 games. It was not the result that mattered, but the way that the team meant business and improved their form ahead of the season. The red-wearing supporters at Saitama Stadium could only applaud at the relentless effort displayed by Urawa Reds when both teams were still pushing hard until United's 5th goal in the 77th minute.

Among the handshakes between opponents, Matthias and Nana were the first to meet Takase after the match.

"_Hey, kid. Don't take it too hard tonight. Just see it as a good lesson for the future. Good game_." Matthias said as he gave Takase a handshake.

Since Takase's English was not that good, he just replied with a simple "_Yeah, good game_." before he turned towards Nana to ask what the German just said. After a few more handshakes, Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke joined Kaoru and Takase to have a little chat in the players' tunnel.

"Will you be OK, Takase?" Kakeru asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about how close I am to make the national team, and yet some things still look so far away. Even if I get the call, I feel so powerless against someone like Matthias Köhler. To think there are more defenders like him in the world..." Takase replied.

"We don't know if we have what it takes to be any helpful to the national team if we have to face a monster like him someday.*sigh*" Kaoru added.

"Don't see it like that. I also had the worst of times when I faced him the first few times in training, so much that I was asking myself what I was doing there." Kakeru said.

"Really?"

"Yep. When Matthias arrived to Manchester from his native Nordrhein-Westfalen, almost no one was able to beat him one-on-one. I had a really hard time, but I kept working harder to find ways to get past him."

"Remember what Matthias said earlier, Takase. Use it as a lesson for the future. Now that you have seen what a world class defender can do, think about improving your skills. Anything." Nana added.

"How?" Takase asked.

"I saw you from the bench in the second half. It was clear that it was just a matter of endurance as well as experience that made the difference. Working on endurance is a good lead to follow." Nana replied.

"Sounds good indeed, Nana-chan."

"What about me?" Kaoru asked.

"From what I saw, some general work on your strength will help. Also improve your shooting, which would make you an even more unpredictable player to play against. Matthias quickly saw through your habits, so that's why he stopped you so easily." Yusuke replied.

"Just work on those in the following months, and then you'll get even better and readier for the international stage." Kakeru added.

"We'll work on that. Thanks, guys, and good luck in England to all three of you." Kaoru said.

"Good luck to you too." Kakeru finished.

After bidding good luck to each other, the friends went to their respective dressing rooms. For Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke, the time was coming to start a new season. Meanwhile, Kaoru and Takase were hoping that their friends' words of advice would become useful in the upcoming months.

* * *

**Sunday July 30**

**Narita International Airport, Chiba, Japan**

**10:20 AM**

Early in the following morning, the Manchester United team was ready to take the long flight from Tokyo to Manchester. The 16-hour flight was set to take off at 10:50 AM with a first-class trip on board of a Japan Airlines Boeing 777 from Narita to Heathrow Airport, London. Then a British Airways flight from London to Manchester would take the team home in the early evening just before 7:00 PM BST. For one of the Manchester United players, it was a special day as he was about to leave his homeland to earn his own living as a professional footballer in a foreign country.

"Having a few butterflies?" Kakeru asked.

"I'm excited... in a good way. I've been training my whole life for this, Kakeru." Yusuke replied.

"It was the same feeling for us back a few years ago." Nana said.

"Don't worry too much about it. After all, you'll be in good company as our new neighbor in West Didsbury, Manchester." Kakeru added.

"You told me that there's a vacant apartment right below yours. Right, Kakeru?" Yusuke asked.

"Yep. The previous owner wanted to sell the whole duplex last week, but we convinced him to keep the sale on hold until you arrive. We had some help in Manchester though. Anyway, after we arrive and then settle things down with the sale, the apartment at ground level will be yours. Meanwhile, we won't have to move anywhere for now; both apartments in the duplex are the same size."

"I see. Is it just the two of you in your current apartment?" Yusuke asked.

"No, there's also Noriko." Nana replied.

"A woman? Who is this Noriko?" Yusuke was surprised when he heard that a woman was also living with Kakeru and Nana under the same roof.

"You'll see her when we'll arrive." Nana replied. "She's really nice, but we won't spoil the surprise for you now."

"_All right! It's time to get on board. Let's go, people!_" Paulus ordered his players to embark.

Finally, the Japanese portion of Manchester United's preseason tour officially ended. The first chapter of the new campaign was about to be written in exactly 7 days. However, it was first and foremost the time for most of the players to fly back to the city to which they call it home for at least 10 months every year.


	5. 04: Arrival in Manchester

**Chapter 4: Arrival in Manchester**

**Sunday July 30**

**Manchester Airport, Manchester, UK**

**7:12 PM BST**

After a long flight from Narita to Manchester, including a stop in London, the Manchester United team finally landed on home soil. Most of the players were exhausted by the long flight and the jet lag, but everyone was happy to have returned in familiar territory nevertheless. Once the players got past the customs and went past the luggage claim area, they were greeted by their wives, girlfriends and children. Only one person was waiting for Kakeru and Nana.

"Kakeru! Nana!" Noriko shouted as she spotted her friends.

"Noriko!" Nana replied as she and Kakeru went forward to hug their closest female friend for the last few years.

"How have you two been?" Noriko asked.

"We had the best time ever in Japan. We met nice people in our clinical workplace and we fully enjoyed every moment of training camp at home too. You couldn't ask any better of a summer." Kakeru replied.

"Speaking of summer, you got yourself quite a nice tan, Noriko." Nana added.

"Thanks. I spent my summer vacation at the French Riviera, then Spain and Gibraltar with my friend Sarah. Plenty of beaches and sun, it was great."

"Did you find a boyfriend in your travels?" Nana asked.

Noriko sighed when the word "boyfriend" came up in the conversation. "No luck at all. I still can't find a way to get genuinely interested in a guy although there were a few nice-looking guys." she replied.

"I see. We'll keep it quiet then." Nana said.

"Where is Yusuke?" Kakeru asked.

"Sorry about the delay, guys. It took them a couple more minutes to get my luggage in the claim area, but it's all fine now." Yusuke replied as he arrived behind Kakeru and Nana.

"It's all right, Yusuke." Kakeru said before he made the presentations. "Noriko, this is my long-time friend Yusuke Saeki. Yusuke, this is Noriko Catherine Lewis, our roommate since we arrived in 2013."

"Nice to meet you. You can call me Yusuke."

When Noriko came face-to-face with Yusuke for the first time, the half-British half-Japanese woman froze for a few seconds. For a moment, her mind appeared to be elsewhere while her facial features displayed an uneasy feeling.

"Lewis-san..." Yusuke said.

Coming back to her senses, Noriko shook hands with Yusuke to make the formal introduction. "You can call me Noriko, Yusuke-san."

"Is everything OK?" Yusuke asked.

"I just had a strange feeling of déjà vu for a second. However, it wouldn't make any sense at all since this is the first time we meet."

Meanwhile, Kakeru and Nana noticed Noriko's uneasy reaction too. It was the first time they saw Noriko reacting like that since the day they first met, a few years ago.

"What was that?" Kakeru asked Nana with a low voice.

"I don't know. It was as if she saw a ghost or something."

"What does that mean?" Kakeru asked.

"I'm not quite sure, but..." Nana replied.

"I'm sure all of you must be tired from the long flight. I'll drive us home then." Noriko said to her friends as well as to Yusuke.

"Sure. Let's go." Kakeru finished.

* * *

After a drive from Manchester Airport to West Didsbury, Noriko, Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke finally arrived at the apartment. As Yusuke could notice, the 2-story apartment was neat and cozy.

"Nice place you have there. Did you do the decorating yourselves?" Yusuke asked.

"Some of it. It was already a good-looking apartment when we first arrived here." Kakeru replied.

"From the outside, it looks small and a little old. However when it comes to the inside, it's really different in a very good way."

"The apartment below has more or less the same features: a nice lounge, a kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a master bedroom, and a second bedroom of which you can do whatever you want with it. It will be yours after we complete the paperwork for the sale tomorrow." Kakeru said.

"I think I have a few leftovers. It's not much for a full dinner, but it should do since you'll need a big night of sleep more than anything to get rid of the jet lag." Noriko said. "I'll get those ready."

"I'll give you a hand too." Nana added as she and Noriko went to the kitchen.

"I'll be unpacking our luggage upstairs if you look for me." Kakeru replied.

Then Kakeru went to his and Nana's bedroom upstairs to unpack the luggage and to store some of their belongings. A short moment later, Yusuke went upstairs to have a chat with Kakeru.

"You know, I can't help but think how you two have been good at keeping your feet on the ground despite achieving stardom recently. You could have fallen into buying extravagant stuff like many celebrities do, but you chose to live like common people do instead. It's really nice." Yusuke said.

"Thanks. It is something Nana and I always wanted to do until the day we get married, finish our medical studies, and attain a more stable situation. After all, we love this kind of life: to be like any normal college or university student, and keep whatever money we earn now for something bigger of a project in the future." Kakeru replied.

"What would that be?"

"We're not there yet, Yusuke."

"Sure, of course... Speaking of your situation here, I'm curious about something. You live with 2 smart, soccer-loving and beautiful girls under the same roof for nearly 10 months a year. Did you ever have... you know... a 3-way party with both girls?"

"If I ever had a 3-way... N-n-no, Yusuke! W-w-why are you asking me that?" Kakeru stammered, totally flabbergasted by the nature of Yusuke's question.

"Come on, Kakeru. Why so defensive? It was just a normal question like another. I'm not a sex-crazy guy at all; I'm single and still looking for the right woman. Besides, we can speak about it between men. After all, your roommate looks really pretty to say the very least, so I was just wondered if that kind of temptation was ever strong for you."

"Of course not! You already know I'm not the most comfortable guy around women except Nana, thanks to us being childhood friends. I just can't see myself getting that intimate with any other woman." Kakeru was still embarrassed. "Please, stop doing that. I already had Kouta teasing me a lot about it in the past."

"OK, I'll stop there. Seriously, how did you meet this roommate of yours?" Yusuke asked Kakeru.

"Well... It was quite a coincidence when Nana and I met Noriko after graduating from high school. We discovered that she was going to attend medical school in Manchester the following year and that she is a big Manchester United fan. It was right on the day after United first approached us. Because she lived in Manchester until age 7 and was set to return there after finishing high school, it helped us making our decision."

"I'm sure there's more to that."

"Indeed. Noriko always wanted to become a sports doctor... United's first team doctor, to be more accurate. It was Nii-chan who told her that she would be a great fit as a sports doctor based on what he saw of her as a team manager for Daiichi Junior High School." Kakeru explained further.

"She knew Suguru-san?"

"More than that: she was his girlfriend. They met each other when he was in his second year and her being in in first year. It was mutual attraction at first sight according to her."

Yusuke was surprised when Kakeru revealed the nature of Noriko's relationship with Suguru. "He never told anyone he had a girlfriend at all. Also he never let any sign indicating there was someone in his life."

"He kept it as a distance relationship because he knew both of them would be invested into their respective paths before they can start a full relationship; him as a player and her as a student aspiring to get into medical school. It was so secret that he didn't write anything about it in his diary. Nevertheless, they continued to keep in touch with each other until the day he died in the accident."

"I see. So where does Noriko stand since she met you? In other words: how does she treat you as her late boyfriend's brother? She must have had a shock when she met you because she could have seen him in you, Kakeru."

"She did, but she also saw how close Nana and I were and still are. At the same time, Noriko quickly became very good friends with Nana, so she never tried to go beyond friendship with me. We are almost on a brother-sister type of relationship." Kakeru replied.

"Well, that's good for you on all accounts if any." Yusuke said.

"Dinner's ready, guys!" Nana called from the lower floor.

"Coming!" Kakeru replied.

Around a couple of hours following dinner, Yusuke went to sleep on the couch in the apartment's living room for the night. Meanwhile, Noriko was already asleep in her own bedroom. In the master bedroom, Kakeru and Nana were about to go to sleep as well.

"You said something earlier about Noriko seeing a ghost. What did you mean by that?" Kakeru asked Nana.

"When Noriko froze for a moment, I think she felt something in Yusuke that reminded her of Suguru-san. I can't tell you exactly what, but that was my impression. She never reacted like that to any other man she just met, and we both know how difficult it is for her to feel anything for a man except for Suguru-san."

"It has been a long time since Nii-chan passed away. However, how can she see something that is reminiscent of him?"

"It's really hard to explain how such a connection can be made. Only she might be able to explain. I don't know how she will cope in the long run with Yusuke around as a neighbor for an extended period of time after what we saw. It can either be good or bad." Nana said.

"What do you mean by 'bad'?" Kakeru asked.

"It's only a hypothesis. However, if Noriko sees Yusuke just as a mere potential replacement for Suguru-san if she wants to go for more, it won't do any good at all. Yusuke wouldn't want to be seen as a mere replacement for Suguru-san at all, and that's if he ever feels interested in Noriko." Nana replied.

"I think there might be a chance, Nana. Yusuke told me he's still single and that Noriko looks pretty to him."

"Really, Kakeru? Then there's some hope on his side."

"It could be. But for now, I think it's better for us to get some sleep first. There's no use worrying too much about that now until we see how the situation unfolds in the next few months." Kakeru said.

"I agree." Nana replied between yawns. "Good night, Kakeru."

"Good night to you too, _Honey_." Kakeru finished with a small kiss before he and Nana went to sleep.

* * *

**Monday July 31**

**3:00 PM BST**

In the morning of that day, Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke took a jogging run in West Didsbury. While doing so, the neighborhood's main landmarks were shown to Yusuke in order for him to get familiar with his new environment. Later around noon, Kakeru, Nana, Noriko and the previous owner of the duplex finally signed the papers confirming the sale; Kakeru, Nana and Noriko officially became the new joint owners of the duplex.

In the middle of the afternoon, Yusuke asked Kakeru and Nana to show him Old Trafford. Since it was a full day off for everyone, it was a perfect opportunity for United's new player to pay a proper first visit of the new stage where he will perform from now on.

_**It's our home, a place of glory**_

_**It's our game, our football story**_

_**That we all fight for the title**_

_**So let's march on, and sing our song**_

_**And we'll battle forever long**_

_**And we all shout from the East Stand**_

_**Manchester, please take me home**_

_**United Road, United Road**_

_**United Road, United Road**_

_**Won't you take me home, United Road?**_

_**United Road, United Road.**_

As usual on non-match days when he comes by, Kakeru parked his Nissan Qashqai in the Eastern parking lot outside Old Trafford. Walking towards the stadium, the 3 Japanese players stopped for a moment behind the _United Trinity_ statue facing the East Stand's tinted glass facade.

"Who are they?" Yusuke asked.

"Denis Law, Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best. They were the engine of this club in the 1960s. And that statue across the street, it's the coach from the same era: Sir Matt Busby." Kakeru replied.

"You seem to know the club's history quite well."

"With the amount of history this club has, you'll learn a lot after spending a number of years here, Yusuke." Kakeru replied.

"You told the club you wanted to see Old Trafford for the first time after training camp when you could have gone there on the day you were transferred from Yokohama to us. Is it because you wanted to do it with us?" Nana asked Yusuke.

"Yes, I wanted to have this first visit alongside you. At the same time, I can enjoy having the two of you telling me about your best memories here so far."

"Well, you had the right idea. Let's get inside." Kakeru finished.

After going through the Megastore, the 3 Japanese players walked in the corridors of the stadium before they reached the players' lounge in the Southwest corner of the stadium.

"It's really neat here." Yusuke said.

"This is the players' lounge. We use this room when we get to a match before we go inside the dressing room. We usually arrive at the stadium by bus 2 hours before kickoff and then spend 45 minutes here. It's a players-only area at such time; the coaches go to a separate room down the hallway. We only leave for the dressing room when one of the assistants calling us." Nana said.

"In here, players can watch the television, listen to music, or have a drink, non-alcoholic of course. When the room's empty around 75 minutes before the match, the players' families can come here. The club has people who can watch over the players' children here during the match." Kakeru added.

"Well, they know how to give a 5-star service, that's for sure." Yusuke said.

"Hospitality is something the club takes really seriously. Nana and I brought our families here a few times, and they really enjoyed the experience on every occasion." Kakeru replied.

"I hope I can bring my parents here one day."

"That time will come sooner than you would think. Trust us." Nana replied to Yusuke.

"Let's have a look at the dressing room now." Kakeru said before they moved into the dressing room. In there, the most noticeable elements were the players' shirts being hung on the pegs mainly for display on guided tours.

"The dressing room in Carrington is twice as big as this." Yusuke remarked.

"Yeah, but we don't need that much space for 11 starters and 7 substitutes. The coaching staff uses the rest of the space while we keep one treatment table in the middle of the room. We don't have lockers here properly speaking, so we don't usually bring many personal effects. There are drawers below the tactical boards where you can put some important stuff there. Still, we have security, and the players trust each other, thus we don't need personal safes." Kakeru replied.

"They already have my shirt hung over there." Yusuke walked across the dressing room towards the seat where a replica of his shirt was exposed for the visitors to take pictures of.

"It must be quite a feeling to see a shirt with your name and number being shown to the public for guided tours already."

"I still have a hard time realizing I'm already a part of the first team for this great organization, Kakeru."

"At least, your shirt is already there. Kakeru and I had to fight our way to get our shirts in this room. Enjoy the dream." Nana said.

"I sure will." Yusuke replied before he went back to the topic of the dressing room. "Oh, I noticed that the bath and shower area is just adjacent to this room. With Nana being part of the team, how do you manage with getting dressed and taking showers?"

"Usually, they let me go in alone first so I can get my kit on. Then the other players would come in after I get ready. After matches, I use the female officials' dressing room to have a shower and change clothes. You know there's a female linesman in the Premier League, right?" Nana said.

"Yeah, I saw her in match highlights a few times." Yusuke replied.

"It's not as adapted for women as it is in Carrington, but it's more than decent enough for Nana in the circumstances." Kakeru said.

"Indeed. Shall we go at pitch level now? I'm sure you can't wait to see the inside of the stadium, Yusuke." Nana said.

"Let's go then."

As soon as Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke reached the players' tunnel just outside, they met one of the stewards usually assigned to the players' tunnel area on match days.

"_Hello, Owen_." Kakeru greeted the steward.

"_M. Aizawa, good afternoon. So you are showing our new player the surroundings?_"

"_Yes, we are. He asked the club that we would be the ones showing him the stadium when we are back from the Far East_."

"_I see_." Owen replied to Kakeru before turning towards Yusuke. "_First of all, welcome to Old Trafford, M. Saeki. Are you enjoying your first visit so far?_"

"_I really do, thank you. I have seen a number of features such as the Megastore, the VIP and directors' box, the players' lounge, and the dressing room. We were about to go and see the pitch_." Yusuke replied.

"_Owen, Owen_... Sorry to interrupt you, Yusuke." Kakeru said before he addressed to Owen again. "_I was about to ask you if it is possible to play the little audio recording we play during stadium tours when the visitors arrive in this tunnel. It would give a taste of what he will hear before teams come on this pitch_."

"_Of course, M. Aizawa; we can have that. Just remember to not set a foot on the grass this time, alright?_"

"_OK! Thanks, Owen_."

A few seconds later, Owen played the recording on. The audio recording consisted of sounds of applause from when both teams come on the pitch before kickoff. Along with the applause and the sounds of cheering, PA announcer Alan Keegan's voice was also part of the stadium tour experience.

"Here we go!" Nana exclaimed as she and her friends walked down the tunnel and towards the playing surface.

_**Alan Keegan**__**: Welcome to Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, home to the greatest football team in the world. Behold the record-breaking 2X-time League champions. Behold the...**_

As the 3 Japanese players walked out of the tunnel, and on the sideway leading to the dugout without touching the grass, Yusuke could only look up and around in awe at the stands' physical features.

"My word... I really don't know what to say."

"It's the feeling every single player has when it's the first time he or she comes here. When this stadium is packed to the rafters, the atmosphere is also something special with supporters remaining behind the team and turning up the noise." Kakeru said.

"I've seen matches being played at Old Trafford on television before, but I never thought I would feel so amazed just by being here."

"Neither one of us ever thought so, Yusuke. It's the kind of feeling you can only enjoy when you have your feet in the place." Nana said.

"What was your first goal here like, Kakeru?" Yusuke asked.

"It was also my first goal ever for this team; it was against Sunderland in the Premier League. One of my teammates sent a cross that was curving towards the edge of the penalty area. I slipped between 2 defenders in my sprint towards the edge of the box, jumped in the air, and blasted the volley shot with my left foot towards the top corner."

"Wow! That's what you call making a statement with your first goal. What about you, Nana?"

"It was in the exact same match. Kakeru's goal gave us the lead, but my goal sealed the 3 points on that day. It was on a corner kick. Robin, Kakeru and many others were scrambling inside the area. Under pressure, one of the Sunderland defenders cleared the ball towards my position. Before I even let the ball hit the ground, I didn't think for a second and decided to hit it first time. Despite having many bodies in the way, the shot was powerful and so accurate that it smashed the underside of the bar, bounced behind the goal line and up into the roof of the net."

"I remember the atmosphere in the stadium getting crazy and then the media going wild over those goals. So many people wanted to interview us since we became instant heroes because of that, but Noriko and the club kept us away from the traps that newly-earned stardom can set." Kakeru added to Nana's story.

"I already know that your favorite goal so far at Old Trafford is that one against Sunderland, Kakeru. However, which one of your goals was your favorite, Nana?" Yusuke asked.

"It was no doubt against Manchester City during last season, in the 94th minute at Old Trafford. Ander made a brilliant through pass for Kakeru, then he took a shot, but the goalkeeper deflected it off the inside of the post... and suddenly the ball was begging for me to tap it in with no one else around me. It was a very important last-minute winning goal, especially because that particular game was pivotal for the title race. After we won that, we knew no one could stop us after that." Nana replied to Yusuke's question.

"When I listen to the two of you, I think it's going to be hard for me to become a fan favorite. You have the spotlight while I play more of a supporting role."

"Don't worry about it, Yusuke. This club has been known to see fan favorites grow at each position. We know you can do it because you belong here, trust us." Nana said.

"Thanks a lot, Nana."

"Just take things one day at the time, and then everything will be fine." Kakeru finished.

Following those last words, the 3 Japanese players moved along with the visit as they had a look at the dugout where both benches were located. Then they left the stadium afterwards. It was already more than enough for Yusuke to think about how fortunate he was to be part of a big club.

* * *

**7:00 PM**

Later in the evening, Yusuke joined Kakeru, Nana and Noriko for dinner.

"So the first training session in Carrington is tomorrow. What do you think the Boss will start with?" Yusuke asked.

"He will probably start with a light training session. Nevertheless, it is important as it will prepare us for higher intensity sessions on Wednesday and Thursday." Kakeru replied.

"He can also get us to work on particular technical aspects too." Nana added.

"With Arsenal coming on Sunday, I guess the drills in the more intense days will focus on how to counter a team that loves ball possession. Am I right, Kakeru?" Yusuke said.

"With Van Saal, you can expect us to be primarily set in a way we can hit them on the counterattack. Still, we have players who can play a good possession game as well."

Meanwhile, Noriko didn't speak much since dinner time began. However, Nana also noticed that as well.

"Ah, Noriko. I was wondering if you can tell us the news about our next opponents." Nana said.

"Oh... Yes, of course. Arsenal... Aaron Ramsey is currently hot with 5 goals during preseason. Patrick Jenpa began his camp slowly, but picked up the pace with 4 goals in the last 2 preseason games he played. Their captain Per Mertesacker just returned from calf injury last week, so he may be rusty. Also, Ryuichi Araki got a muscle problem last week. They say it's nothing serious, but they still prefer to keep him healthy for the beginning of the Premier League season in 12 days. Otherwise, all of their players are healthy and appear to be pumped up for the next season."

"You really know how to make a report. You're probably the only girl I know, other than Nana, who knows how to get deep in terms of soccer-related stuff."

"Well... I try to keep myself up to date." Noriko replied with a tone of voice that displayed some embarrassment.

"You don't need to be too modest, Noriko. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for your help back then." Nana replied.

"She's a really good scout in her own way. After all, she helped Nana and I getting through our tryout before we signed for United. She showed us what strengths and weaknesses the players at the time had. We exploited their weaknesses and showed the coaches at the time what we were made of." Kakeru added.

"Oh, that's great. In a way, you are one big reason why we all ended up here today. Thank you." Yusuke said.

"Well... It's my pleasure. I'm glad too." Noriko's face was getting a little redder.

"Kakeru told me yesterday that you have roots here and so you know the city. What would be your best advice to any soccer player who arrives here?"

"If I can give you the same advice I gave to Kakeru and Nana, it would be simple: Don't change who you are. Manchester is one of the craziest soccer cities in the world, but the key for success is always to remember who you are and where you come from."

"I'll gladly take the advice, but my life's already changed just by being here." Yusuke said to Noriko while his gaze was looking deeply into hers.

After looking back into Yusuke's eyes for a moment, Noriko finished the last bit of her meal and then left the table. "I'm done. I just remembered I have something to do upstairs."

"What's up with her?" Yusuke asked.

"Beats me." Kakeru replied while Nana, who had an idea of what was happening, said nothing.

"Anyway, we just have to focus on the task at hand starting tomorrow." Nana said.

"Right. However, don't be surprised if the Boss doesn't give you that many minutes at the beginning of the season yet, Yusuke. I'm sure he wants to make sure you'll have enough energy and better chemistry with your teammates before you earn a place in the starting XI. After all, it's a long season." Kakeru added.

"I'm expecting it anyway, but I have faith in him. I'll just have to work hard and earn my place eventually."

"That's the spirit, Yusuke." Nana said.

"I know you will do it. Remember: take it one day at the time." Kakeru finished.

With those last few words in mind, Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke were set to take on the following days of training ahead of the first confrontation in the new campaign between United and Arsenal, in the national stadium of Wembley.


	6. 05: A Summer Day in Wembley

**Chapter 5: A Summer Day in Wembley**

The Football Association (FA) Community Shield... The annual match contested between the champions of the previous Premier League season and the holders of the FA Cup is regarded as the dawn of the new English football season as it is played one week before the Premier League season starts. In the case the Premier League champions also won the FA Cup, the Premier League's runners-up would provide the opposition. Generally ranked below the FA Cup and the League Cup in terms of importance, the fixture is recognized as a football Super Cup. Although some pundits derided the match with the label of "glorified friendly", others like former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson describe the match as a barometer for the team's fitness.

Manchester United vs. Arsenal... Two clubs with great history and traditions; one of the fiercest rivalries ever seen in English football. Although both clubs squared off against one another in the same league for most of the time since 1919, people believe the rivalry was born on October 20, 1990 as an ill-tempered clash saw both teams being docked points. After Arsène Wenger arrived in 1996 as Arsenal's manager, United and Arsenal became perennial rivals between 1996-97 and 2004-05. During that time, both managers called names against one another. Rivals, like former captains Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira, clashed several times on the pitch and sometimes in the tunnel. Intimidation, viciousness, bickering and fighting... in other words, open war was the norm between both teams until the rivalry cooled down from the 2005-06 season and onwards.

Even if the old protagonists like Sir Alex Ferguson, Roy Keane, Arsène Wenger and Patrick Vieira were no longer parts of their respective clubs, the rivalry still existed although in a milder form... until this season. A new chapter of this historical rivalry was about to be written on the pitch of the national stadium known as Wembley.

* * *

**Sunday August 6**

**Manchester United vs. Arsenal (FA Community Shield)**

**Wembley Stadium, London, UK**

As the team bus arrived at Wembley Stadium after a drive from the hotel where the United players were lodged, several hundreds of Manchester United supporters stood outside of the stadium to greet their heroes.

"Oh man, look at this sight." Kakeru said as he had a quick look to the massive Wembley arch, which holds the roof of the main structure that stands on the ground.

"You've never played in Wembley after all those years?" Yusuke asked.

"No. It's the first time for me. Have you?"

"No. What about you, Nana?" Yusuke asked.

"Only once; it was during the 2012 Summer Olympics. I played in Nadeshiko Japan's victorious semi-final against France, but I got injured before the end of the match. I was forced to see the United States beating us from the stands in the gold medal match 3 days later." Nana replied, but it was clear in her tone of voice that her Wembley experience was something she would rather forget.

"Oh, I see. Sorry about that." Yusuke apologized.

"What is done is done. This is a new day and a new year, so let's make sure things go for the best this time." Kakeru said.

"You're right, Kakeru. Let's do this." Nana added.

After the bus went inside of the stadium's garage, the players moved towards their assigned lounge. Kakeru, Nana and Yusuke were told by Paulus that they would have their turn in the second half. After all, the 16 field players out of 18 on each team knew they would see action at some point because the Community Shield match was officially designated as a "friendly match" despite the presence of silverware being up for grabs.

* * *

**2:29 PM BST**

**West Didsbury, Greater Manchester, UK**

Noriko was preparing to watch the Community Shield match on TV when she heard someone ringing the doorbell outside of the apartment as she expected. Without further due, Noriko went to open the door.

"_Hello, Noriko_." a beautiful blonde woman with green eyes appeared at the door. She was the same age as Noriko and a fellow medical student at the University of Manchester. Her name is Sarah Davies.

"_Hello, Sarah._ _How are you doing?_"

"_I'm doing well. I sure wasn't going to miss the game since you are here_."

"_Well, the only time I would buy a ticket at Wembley would be if United can get in the FA Cup final. Come in!_" Noriko said as she invited Sarah inside the apartment. "_Want me to get you anything?_"

"_I'll go with just a tea for now. Thanks, Noriko_."

"_It feels like a long time ago since Arsenal and United have played for something shiny at the end of a match. I'm really excited for some reason_." Noriko said as she prepared the tea for both Sarah and herself.

"_That brings back memories from the days when I was a kid. My father was rabidly anti-Arsenal. I don't think I have ever seen Dad hate a team that much since_."

"_Me neither. Speaking about you, what does the workplace for your upcoming clinical apprenticeship look like?_" Noriko asked.

"_The Royal Manchester Children's is a very great place to work in. The facilities are at the state of the art, the staff is very friendly, and they have great resources on all fronts. I think I will have a good time there. What about you, Noriko?_"

"_The staff at Trafford General is friendly too and they sure know how to give good services, especially in the orthopedics department where I'll work. I also feel this is the right place for me_."

"_That's nice to hear, Noriko. It's almost hard to believe we have made our way this far already; time flew by so quickly_."

"_I know. Still, I'm glad to take on this new challenge that will eventually take me closer to my dream_." Noriko said.

"_We will make a big party on the day you get the job at United_."

"_I will really look forward to it_." Noriko finished.

* * *

**2:55 PM BST**

**Wembley Stadium, London, UK**

As both starting lineups walked out of the central tunnel towards the center of the Wembley pitch, they were greeted by pyrotechnics and the 90,000 spectators' thunderous cheers. On the pitch, a triangle of red carpets was laid for cameramen to walk on it and film close-ups of the players. Before the handshake, the tradition of the Community Shield match involves the rare singing of the English national anthem before a club match. For the occasion, famous New Zealand singer and classical crossover artist Hayley Westenra sang _God Save the Queen_ along with large numbers of supporters in the stands. After the national anthem, both teams followed with a handshake and then the players moved into their assigned positions.

Manchester United wore their home colors for this match while Arsenal wore their away kit consisting of a yellow shirt and blue shorts.

Your match commentators are Alan Smith and, first, Rob Hawthorne.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Football is back. This is Manchester United – the Premier League Champions, against Arsenal – holders of the FA Cup. It may not be the rivalry of old between these 2 clubs, but the fixture always stands out as a big one regardless of the occasion. Starting in goal today for United is David de Gea (#1) and he is expected to play the full 90 minutes. At the back, Rafael (#2), Phil Jones (#4), Marcos Rojo (#5) and Luke Shaw (#3) have the task of protecting De Gea against the Gunners' attacks from the start. Ander Herrera (#21), Daley Blind (#17) and Juan Mata (#8) will provide the linkup in the middle. Adnan Januzaj (#11), Wayne Rooney (#10) and Ángel Di María (#12) have the nod up front.**_

On all broadcasts, the graphic of Manchester United's lineup made way for Arsenal's.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: For the North Londoners, Polish international and number 1 goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny (#1) said in the newspapers: "This is our chance to show everyone that we are among the contenders for the top of the table". Supporting him in defense, Carl Jenkinson (#25) returns as right-back with Laurent Koscielny (6) and Calum Chambers (#21) in the middle, and Kieran Gibbs on the left (#3) in Arsenal's back 4. In midfield, Alexis Sánchez (#17) and Joel Campbell (#28) will provide wide attacking options; Jack Wilshere (#10), Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (#15) and Aaron Ramsey (#16) will marshal the middle of the park. Up front, £40 M signing Patrick Jenpa (#12) will try to provide the spark in front of goal after a relatively slow start in preseason before he scored 4 times in the last 2 matches.**_

Then the graphic showing the substitutes appeared while the commentator named the most important substitutes available.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Plenty of firepower on both benches. For Manchester United, Matthias Köhler (#15), Nana Mishima (#7), Markus Riese (#14), Kakeru Aizawa (#9) and John Wilson (#19) are poised to make a difference off the bench. For Arsenal, the skipper Per Mertesacker (#4), Mesut Özil (#11), Theo Walcott (#14) and Danny Welbeck (#23) should see action later today. However, Japanese international Ryuichi Araki (#18) is the most noticeable absentee for Arsenal. He's still out with a muscle problem, but should be cleared for next week's season opener.**_

After the coin toss, Arsenal was awarded the right to kick off the first half. On the referee's whistle, the game started under a thunderous roar. Both sides started the match with caution as each side was studying the other. However, the action picked up the pace at the 16th minute with an interception by Manchester United near the center line, thanks to some hard pressing.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Ramsey... Good anticipation by Herrera**_

United's Spanish central midfielder Ander cut a pass from the Arsenal midfielder. The loose ball went to Phil, who then passed forward to Daley. After a slight turn, the Dutch midfielder found Wayne in his path in the middle of the park.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Rooney spots Di María...**_

Running with the retreating Arsenal defenders from the right wing, Ángel received the ball before he made a cut towards the inside of the pitch outside of the box. Although Arsenal's centre-back Laurent Koscielny was in his path, Ángel dribbled and waited the perfect moment for a shooting opportunity. Picking the spot, Ángel unleashed a powerful low drive with his right foot. The shot flew around Laurent to his left, past the Arsenal goalkeeper's fingertips and into the bottom corner to open the score in favor of the Mancunian side.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: DI MARÍA DRIVES IT! Just over 15 minutes gone, the Argentine opens United's account for the season!**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: It's a typical Manchester United counterattack. Ramsey misses the pass, and then they move the ball forward so quickly. Rooney makes a brilliant pass for Di María. Then the Argentine waited for the right moment to use Koscielny as a shield distracting Szczesny, and picks his spot down in that bottom corner. No chance for the Pole.**_

For the Arsenal fans sitting in the end of the stadium where the goal was scored, it was total shock. Meanwhile in the United end of the stadium and on the Manchester United bench, it was jubilation.

"_Hell yeah!_" Kakeru shouted.

"_That's how to do it, lads!_" Matthias added.

"_That was excellent. It's the best way to beat Arsenal's passing game. All we need to do now is to keep the pressure on, capitalize again and put this game away_." Nana said, using her usual position as a part-time strategist to explain the play like she always did.

"I know, Seven. Let's hope we grab another one before halftime." Kakeru replied before he shouted out loud: "_LET'S GO, GUYS!_"

For most of the first half, United's defense gave away no openings in normal play while Ander, Daley and Juan initiated the attacks from the middle of the park. Adnan and Ángel provided some penetration while Wayne had a couple of attempts that went just wide from goal. Meanwhile, Arsenal's defense and goalkeeper recovered well enough from conceding a goal as they narrowed down any openings there could be. The Arsenal midfielders showed strong resilience as they absorbed the pressure and counterattacked as well. Only Patrick Jenpa up front was not quite in the game yet for Arsenal.

In the 34th minute, United took the game into Arsenal's half.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Jenkinson... intercepted by Blind. Now, Januzaj's in... goes past Wilshere...**_

Following an interception and a pass forward by the Dutch defensive midfielder, Adnan cut inside and ran past Jack Wilshere. And then United's Belgian left winger spotted Wayne standing in front of the 6-yard box and passed the ball towards him. However, the Manchester United captain's first touch of the ball failed him as the ball bounced off his right foot and towards the Ángel on his right. The Argentine tried to tap the bouncing ball in, but the ball went just out of his reach.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Ohhhh... Rooney's first touch failed him at the crucial moment. Di María just couldn't connect either.**_

In the aftermath, the Arsenal players moved back into defensive positions and cleared the ball away from the danger area. On the bench, no one among the Manchester United substitutes could believe what they wasted of a chance.

"Come on! I can't believe that!" Kakeru exclaimed.

"We can't miss that! We just can't." Nana added as she had her hands on her head in disbelief.

In the 37th minute, the first sparks of animosity started flying between both teams.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Di María... running inside Wilshere.**_

Arsenal's Jack Wilshere tackled the ball away, but Juan was there and immediately passed it to Adnan, who was running down the left flank. Without any hesitation, the Belgian made the pass towards Wayne in the middle. However, Wayne got tangled up with Calum Chambers before the ball went loose. Not interested to award a penalty despite the loudly vocal claims, the referee allowed the play to carry on. Arsenal's Alex ran with the ball forward before he was fouled by a strong tackle from Daley,

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Oxlade-Chamberlain is fouled by Blind.**_

The referee blew his whistle, but Alex got up and then shoved Daley, who also replied with some shoving of his own until their teammates came on to separate both belligerents. In the midst of the melee, Patrick Jenpa went head to head with United's big Phil.

"_Hey! You smell like a dog's turd. What did you eat?_" Patrick taunted.

"_Say that again!_" an angry Phil retorted as he grabbed Patrick by the collar.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Jenpa and Jones have a confrontation now. Temperature is really rising.**_

Within the next seconds, the crowd of players moved to separate the other belligerents. Phil had to be held by Wayne, Ángel and Ander to prevent something more reckless from happening. On the bench, Kakeru and Nana watched the whole scene unfolding.

"Did you see what Jenpa did?" Kakeru asked.

"I sure saw it. He's trying to get one of our defenders sent off." Nana replied.

"_GET OUT OF THERE, JONESY!_" Paulus shouted the orders to his defender.

Meanwhile in West Didsbury:

"_Piss off, Jenpa!_" an angry Noriko voiced her displeasure out loud in front of the television.

"_Just his first match in England and he finds a way to become hated. What an idiot_." Sarah said.

"_He's on course to become public enemy #1 at Old Trafford if he carries on like that_."

Once things calmed down a little around a minute later in Wembley, the referee had a word with each of the belligerents separately either for dishing a card or giving only a verbal warning.

_**Alan Smith**__**: Jones could be in trouble here with the grab.**_

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: The referee is having a word with Jones and... Jones is shown a yellow card.**_

Having seen the referee take no action against Patrick, most United fans and players were displeased with the referee's decision regarding the Arsenal striker from Cameroon. To make things worse, Arsenal seemed to take a psychological advantage as the Manchester United players were losing their focus towards the brink of halftime. In the second minute of injury time in the first half, Arsenal earned a corner kick.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: This has to be the last kick of the half, but it is a big test for United's defense with Jenpa's physical presence in the box.**_

It was Chilean winger Alexis Sánchez who was in charge of the corner kick. With a strong kick of the ball, the ball swirled towards a "no man's land" area located just in front of the 6-yard box. Luring Phil, Patrick made a run inside the box and used his teammate Laurent as a natural shield against 2 United players.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Sánchez... Into the face of the goal! It's Jenpa!**_

With a free header, Patrick scored the equalizer for Arsenal. In the aftermath, the United players were looking at each other for an explanation.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: The £40-million striker, the man involved in the melee 8 minutes earlier scores on his English football debut on the brink of halftime. More importantly, Arsenal are level at 1-1.**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: Let's have a look here: Jenpa has Jones marking him, but Jenpa comes across and uses Koscielny as a human wall against 2 red shirts to get himself in position. It was a clever play by the striker from Cameroon. With that much space, he'll make you pay.**_

"Damn! We almost got away with the lead at the break." Kakeru was obviously disappointed.

"Jonesy made a bad decision by getting lured by Jenpa like that. I know the Boss will bring Matthias in to make things look different." Nana replied.

"_OK. I want all subs warming up during the break. Kakeru, Matthias, Nana... you will start the second half. You know the tactics, so get yourselves ready_." Paulus gave his instructions to the substitutes.

"_YES SIR!_" the substitutes replied altogether.

As the play restarted, only a few seconds went by until the referee blew his whistle for halftime. It was the signal for the Manchester United substitutes to start their warm-up exercises with fitness coach Tony Strudwick as a supervisor. Both managers gave their instructions for the upcoming second half. On Paulus' end of things, he was happy with most of the first half. However, the old Dutchman was furious with his team's performance in the final 8-9 minutes of the first half. It wasn't long before the players were told what would be expected of them in the second half.

* * *

Just before the second half started, both teams proceeded with a few changes. Kakeru, Nana and Matthias replaced Wayne, Juan and Phil respectively while the tactical setup remained the same for Manchester United. Meanwhile, Arsenal replaced Carl Jenkinson, Jack Wilshere and Joel Campbell with Per Mertesacker, Mesut Özil and former Manchester United player Danny Welbeck. With all the changes, there were consequent changes in captaincy as Matthias wore the armband after Wayne was pulled out while Matthias' teammate with the German Nationalmannschaft, Per Mertesacker, assumed his normal position as Arsenal's captain.

Looking from somewhere in the stands was Ryuichi Araki. He was paying closer attention to Kakeru and Nana.

'Now let's see how you will react in this half. We won't make this easy for you at all, especially with Jenpa on our side.' Araki thought.

Kakeru and Nana stood in the center of the pitch and waited for the referee to blow the whistle that would start the second half. When the whistle came, Nana kicked things off with a pass towards the central midfielders. The second half was only 3 minutes old when Arsenal pushed forward with Danny Welbeck and Kieran Gibbs passing to each other down United's right flank.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Gibbs... Welbeck gets away from Rafael...**_

Danny skipped past Rafael and ran deeper before kicking a high cross towards the face of goal, but Matthias headed the ball away. However, Patrick was standing outside of the box and then ran past Ander with the ball. United's right-back Rafael stood in the way, but miskicked the ball towards the penalty spot.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: And it's AARON RAMSEY!**_

Arsenal's Welsh midfielder Aaron managed to escape his marking between Marcos and Luke. In a good position, Aaron stopped the ball with his chest before he struck the quick volley past David. Suddenly, Arsenal turned the tables around and the Arsenal half of the stadium jubilated behind the Manchester United goal.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: GOAL! It's the Welshman Aaron Ramsey putting Arsenal in front for the first time in the Community Shield!**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: This all started with Danny Welbeck. Welbeck plays his part by sending the ball in, but look at Ramsey had when he pops up. Look at the amount of time and space he's got in that penalty area. Poor man-marking by Manchester United again and they got punished for it.**_

Looking at the jubilant Arsenal players in disgust, Kakeru and Nana were baffled at the sudden turn of events because neither was able to get into the game yet.

"But... How?" Kakeru asked.

"It was another bad play at the back. That sucks." Nana replied.

Meanwhile, Matthias tried to rally his teammates and get them back into the game. "_It's only one goal down, so switch the focus, keep spaces tight and push forward. MOVE!_"

"_C'mon, let's go!_" Daley shouted as well.

"If we have to beat them in the old-fashioned way, we will do it." Kakeru said to Nana.

"Let's take it back to them."

Despite having fallen behind, the Manchester United players got back up and switched their strategy into an even more aggressive one to match Arsenal's new level of intensity. Over the next 10 minutes, United started taking better control of the ball and getting better chances in the 60th minute.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Köhler looking for options...**_

Matthias passed the ball towards Kakeru just outside of the 18-yard box. With his back to the Arsenal goal and with Laurent blocking the way, Kakeru passed the ball towards Ángel on the right wing. Without any hesitation, the Argentine sent a high ball that flew across over Calum's head and on Adnan's chest. The Belgian winger dropped the ball down his chest and unleashed the volley at point blank.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Januzaj gets it down... What a save by Szczesny!**_

Wojciech rushed towards the shot and stopped it with his face. As the ball flew back towards the center of the pitch, the referee stopped the game as he saw the Arsenal goalkeeper down because of the previous impact. While Wojciech was attended by Arsenal's medical staff, the Manchester United fans were still in shock regarding the opportunity that was wasted.

"_That shot stunned him a little, but he will carry on_." Noriko said as she watched the action on her television screen.

"_That was a great chance. It's a real shame_." Sarah added.

"_At least, it is the right way to respond. It could have been a lot worse_." Noriko replied.

"_I hope Kakeru and Nana will get into the game for real soon enough though_."

"_They will. Never write them off_." Noriko finished.

Indeed, it wasn't long until Kakeru and Nana went to work on the attack just 3 minutes later in Wembley. Nana and Ángel passed the ball to each other, trying to find an opening. With some dribbling, Ángel pushed the ball past Danny, who committed the foul to stop the Argentine. It was an indirect free kick for Manchester United.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Manchester United have a free kick in an interesting position despite the long distance to the goal.**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: Yeah, we have seen Nana Mishima whip those long balls in the box for teammates trying their luck with headers before.**_

Kakeru, Matthias, Marcos and Ander moved into the box while Arsenal sent 5 players to cover the inside of the box. When the referee blew his whistle, Nana hit for the long pass and it flew over a few heads. Meanwhile, Kakeru escaped his marker and then jumped at the receiving end of Nana's long ball with a header.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Beautiful ball by Mishima... It's Aizawa! He hits the bar!**_

Kakeru's header shot hit the crossbar and bounced towards the side of the 6-yard box. Almost in panic, Calum cleared the ball towards the sidelines. Kakeru's first touch in a dangerous area almost produced a goal.

"Nice pass, Seven." Kakeru acknowledged his girlfriend and teammate's excellent feed. Nana then replied with a thumbs-up sign.

The 2 Japanese players were not finished by a long distance. Just 2 minutes later, in the 65th minute, Rafael started with a long throw from deep in United's half to Kakeru, who then flicked the ball towards his teammate Ángel. Then Kieran impeded Ángel enough for the referee to call the foul. While Kieran was looking away at the referee, Ángel saw Kakeru dashing at the same level as the last Arsenal defender and unleashed a through pass directly into Kakeru's path. It was almost a breakaway.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Free kick... Di María takes it quickly for Aizawa... He has Januzaj with him...**_

Aizawa slipped between Laurent and Per as he ran through towards the Arsenal goal. As he entered inside the box, Kakeru had to make a quick decision as Laurent was slightly grabbing his shirt while Per was standing in the way for any possible pass towards Adnan. Kakeru instinctively struck the ball hard across towards the Wojciech's right, but the Pole responded with a quick reflex save.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Another great save by Szczesny! It's deflected behind for a corner.**_

On the following corner kick, Patrick easily cleared the ball away on the sidelines. After the play was stopped, Paulus introduced 3 new players and ordered a change of formation. Yusuke, James and German winger Markus Riese were sent to replace Rafael, Daley and Adnan; at the same time, United's formation switched into a 3-5-2 with Ander and Yusuke providing steel in front of the 3-defender line, Ángel and Markus providing wide attacking options, and Nana still spraying balls from the middle for the Kakeru/James pair up front.

Arsenal also proceeded with their 3 final changes: Englishman Theo Walcott, veteran Frenchman Mathieu Flamini and young Spanish defender Héctor Ramirez for Alexis, Alex and Laurent respectively. The North Londoners maintained the same formation although the forwards were also ordered to be defensively aware at all times.

Manchester United continued pushing forward, but Arsenal kept regrouping as a strong defensive block ready to launch swift counterattacks. Arsenal had a few more chances to extend the gap, but the Gunners were held away by United's defensive brigade.

* * *

Later in the 83rd minute, Arsenal were on the move deep in United's half.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Jenpa… Good move, it's Welbeck...**_

Patrick held the ball in front of Matthias until he spotted Danny on his left. The ex-United player crossed the ball inside the box, but Yusuke cleared the ball. Having not fully controlled his clearance as the ball rolled back towards Danny, Yusuke had to dash into the Englishman's path. With a slight contact with the ball, Danny pushed the ball towards the goal line before he jumped onto the floor to get the referee's attention after Yusuke apparently stuck his leg in. However, the umpire saw it all: Yusuke's leg was away from Danny by over an inch.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Welbeck goes down... He's booked for diving.**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: There was no contact at all even from up here. I don't understand why Welbeck is unhappy.**_

Although the referee immediately showed the yellow card against Danny, Yusuke stepped forward to give him a piece of his mind as the Japanese was disgusted by the dive. In fact, Yusuke always stood firm against any form of diving and faking injuries since his time at Kamakura High School.

"Kusoyarou (piece of shit)!" Yusuke chirped at Danny.

"_What did you say?_"

"_Who gives? I hate divers wiping the floor_." Yusuke added as he and Danny were less than an inch away from each other in a head-to-head confrontation.

Immediately, Patrick jumped in to have a word in Japanese with Yusuke. "Try me instead, you high school loser."

"I'm here all day if you want!" Yusuke replied.

"OK, Yusuke, just chill out. Jenpa, get lost." Kakeru said as he and Matthias quickly got in the middle to hold Yusuke back while 2 Arsenal players did the same with Patrick.

Immediately, the rest of the players came up to separate the belligerents while a few Arsenal players complained in vain about the referee's decision of not giving a penalty. Kakeru and Nana pulled their friend Yusuke away, but they knew the temperature was about to rise as the frustration of not scoring the vital 2nd goal was growing bigger among the Manchester United players.

* * *

In the 88th minute:

As Patrick partially intercepted a pass, he ran after the ball to push the counterattack. But from the moment the Cameroonian was close to retrieving the ball, Yusuke tackled the ball away with the right foot and Patrick fell onto the ground in the follow-through of Yusuke's strong challenge. Despite Patrick's complaints, the referee deemed the tackle as legal and the game continued with Nana back in control of the ball.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Mishima... Trying to keep the pressure on Arsenal...**_

Nana pushed forward to continue the attack and suddenly found herself facing Aaron.

"_Come here, Little Witch!_"

After making of couple of feints to see the range of the Welshman's body position, Nana executed her "Alley" dribbling technique as the Welshman made the first move towards her. With that technique, Nana tapped the ball with her right foot so the ball would go to the player's left while Nana runs past the player on the right. It almost had a similar effect as Kakeru's Phi Trick.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: She goes past Ramsey...**_

The ball rolling a little further, Nana ran in full stride to catch up with it. Meanwhile, Mathieu went towards Nana in full speed and with the intention of tackling her. Nana slightly touched the ball to push it past Mathieu's reach. However, the Frenchman still jumped in with a two-footed flying tackle off the ground by 2 inches, and then caught Nana's left boot, sending the Japanese woman flying and landing hard on the deck.

The reaction from Manchester United fans and players alike was immediate as a major shout was heard throughout the stadium and in any place where United fans watched the match. Almost immediately, the referee blew his whistle. Meanwhile, Nana managed to get away from the contact without any damage.

"_Hey, do something, referee! That's a two-footed flying tackle!_" Noriko shouted as she just witnessed the action on television.

"_He has to go. Send him off!_" Sarah added.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Oh, it was a rash challenge there. What is the referee gonna do about Flamini here?**_

"_I came as fast as I could to get the ball. I didn't do it on purpose_." Mathieu tried to claim his innocence, but it wasn't very long before a mob of angry Manchester United players met him and started shoving him.

"Cabrón!" Ander shouted as he gave the first shove to the Frenchman.

"_Hey, sod off!_" Patrick pushed Ander back, but then United's German winger Markus also went after the Cameroonian.

"_Don't tell us what to do_, Saftsack (bastard)!" Markus responded.

Before things went too far with the United players getting annoyed by Patrick's presence, the referee ordered everyone to disperse. A very short moment later, the referee issued a straight red card to Mathieu. Then, Ander and Patrick were also given yellow cards for the shoving.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: It's a red card. Arsenal's first red card of the season comes at Wembley and it's Mathieu Flamini who is dismissed.**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: There was no other option, really. Flamini knows he's nowhere near the ball, yet he commits himself with both feet in the air and caught Mishima's left foot. The damage could have been a lot worse.**_

Despite being sent off, Mathieu continued to argue with the referee before he was bailed out by Arsenal players and personnel. Meanwhile, Kakeru and Yusuke were attending to Nana for good measure after the rough tackle she took.

"You sure you can carry on?" Kakeru asked Nana.

"I'm fine. That idiot will pay for that." Nana replied before she whispered something into Kakeru's ear. When she was finished, she turned towards Yusuke. "Ready, Yusuke?"

"I'll take that long free kick." Yusuke said.

"OK, do it." Nana replied before she made a sign to her other teammates to warn them about the strategy. The Manchester United players then moved into their positions as they were trained to during the week. Most of the United players moved higher to receive a possible pass by the edge of the box, but Arsenal pulled back most of their players in front of their own box in response.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Arsenal are now down to 10 men. Ander Herrera and Patrick Jenpa are booked as well, and Manchester United have a free kick from long range as we are entering into stoppage time.**_

When the referee gave the signal for the free kick to go, Yusuke took the kick. However his pass fell a little short as Danny cleared the ball away with a header.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Saeki's free kick didn't get past Welbeck...**_

Then the ball slightly bounced off Patrick's head and went a little closer to the center line. As Patrick ran after the ball, Yusuke came in first and instinctively the ball back towards the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. Per got to the ball first in front of Matthias, but the clearing attempt was not convincing due to Matthias's physical presence.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Saeki sends it back... up towards his teammate Köhler... it's turned away as far as for Mishima...**_

The uncontrolled clearing attempt fell right into Nana's feet 27 yards from goal. Looking for options, Nana suddenly spotted Kakeru completely all alone in an onside position, waving his arms away begging for a pass, and far away from his marker, Héctor Ramirez. Without a moment of hesitation, Nana blasted the through pass between a few Arsenal players and towards Kakeru.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: GREAT PASS FOR AIZAWA!**_

After receiving the pass inside the box, Kakeru had Wojciech running towards him and Héctor charging in a desperate attempt to correct his mistake. With the striker's instinct, Kakeru tapped the ball off his right foot, to Wojciech's left and into the bottom corner of the goal.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: UNBELIEVABLE! Kakeru Aizawa scores his first goal of this new campaign and sends Manchester United back on terms at 2-2. But what a pass by Mishima! Japan's Footballing Sweethearts have struck again.**_

While all Manchester United fans in the stadium and especially behind the Arsenal goal were going into wild euphoria, Kakeru picked up the ball in the back of the net and took it towards the center of the pitch. Instead of celebrating, he just wanted to have another go at goal before the final whistle.

Meanwhile in West Didsbury:

"_BLOODY YES! Give your 'ead a wobble about that now, Flamini!_" Noriko shouted.

"_That was the sweetest revenge for that dirty tackle. Did she really make that pass?_" Sarah replied.

"_You bet she did! She put that right through the eye of the needle!_"

"_Do you think we have time for another goal?_" Sarah asked.

"_I think it will go down to penalties regardless of Kakeru's reaction after the goal. There's no point in risking injuries now despite everything we have seen today_." Noriko replied.

Although the game restarted in Wembley with some time left in injury time, Noriko was right as neither team really pushed forward knowing a penalty shootout was coming shortly. The rule for a Community Shield match says that a penalty shootout would take place if it's tied after 90 minutes.

PEEP PEEP PEEEEEEEEEP!

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Nothing separates these 2 teams after 90 minutes. Thanks to Kakeru Aizawa's late equalizer, the outcome will be decided on penalties. The score after 90 minutes: Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal.**_

Having not celebrated the goal earlier, Kakeru's teammates gave him high fives. It was thanks to him that his team was still having a chance to win. Kakeru congratulated Nana with a good hug as well.

"Thanks for telling me that Ramirez is not good at marking players just before the free kick. That was the key on that goal." Kakeru said.

"Sure, but you also used your strikers' instincts to perfection when you got there." Nana replied.

"Nervous about the shootout, Seven?"

"I must admit that I'm a little nervous, Kakeru."

Both teams then took a few minutes to rest a little, have a few drinks, work up a few muscles with the physios, and have a talk with the coaches about what habits the opposition's goalkeeper had. After the short intermission, the referee proceeded with another coin toss with the 2 team captains to determine which team would shoot first. Finally, Arsenal was allowed to shoot first while the shooting would take place in front of the Manchester United fans' end, which was away from sunshine at that time of the day.

Despite the fact that the match wasn't officially regarded as a competitive one, the pressure of taking a penalty kick is always huge as all eyes are on the kicker from the moment he or she has to make the long walk from the center line to the penalty spot. On one side, the supporters of the player's team would cheer while the opposition's supporters would boo or whistle at the player. The hardest thing for any taker is to stay in control of oneself and to believe in what he or she has been trained for.

At last, the first penalty taker for Arsenal stepped up to the spot.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Arsenal will shoot first. It's Patrick Jenpa who steps up to start the shootout.**_

Patrick put the ball on the spot with the valve up and then stepped back a long way out, just outside the 18-yard box. Once the referee blew his whistle, Patrick dashed towards the ball and blasted it towards the top corner at the goalkeeper's right. United's goalkeeper David jumped in the right direction, but the power behind the shot made it unstoppable. Arsenal took the lead 1-0 in the shootout.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: First blood goes to Arsenal. Jenpa's shot went high in the top corner.**_

While Patrick walked back towards the center of the field, United's first taker stepped forward. It wasn't hard to guess who it was.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: In response to Patrick Jenpa's goal, Kakeru Aizawa will take the first attempt for Manchester United.**_

"Just believe in what you trained to do and let nothing else go through your head, Kakeru!" Nana gave her words of encouragement. In response to those words, Kakeru started blanking his mind ahead of the kick.

Given the go, Kakeru had his gaze aimed at Wojciech's right when he made the run. However, that tactic fooled the Arsenal goalkeeper as Kakeru shot the ball into the bottom corner at the goalkeeper's left side while the latter was diving on his right. Both teams were on equal terms at 1-1.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Easy... Aizawa doesn't miss those.**_

Running away with his arm raised to salute the crowd in celebration, Kakeru walked back towards his delighted teammates. Meanwhile, Arsenal sent Aaron as their next penalty taker. The Welshman had the task of giving the lead back to his team. Following the referee's whistle, Aaron struck the ball low and towards the goalkeeper's right, but the shot was too close to the middle and thus David managed to catch the ball on the ground.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Saved by De Gea! But it was a poor attempt by Aaron Ramsey you have to say.**_

While David celebrated his save with the Manchester United supporters behind the goal, Aaron walked back in disappointment. Without any further due, Matthias, who previously inherited the captain's armband for United in the second half, came up to take the shot. Standing a few yards behind the ball and going on the referee's signal, Matthias shot the ball hard and low with the right foot towards the bottom low corner on Wojciech's right as the latter plunged towards his left. In a matter of a fraction of a second, the Mancunian side took the lead in the shootout.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: It's 2-1! Manchester United have taken the advantage.**_

_**Alan Smith**__**: Köhler leads by example. With his experience, he knew what he was doing. Into the side netting and the goalkeeper was sent the wrong way.**_

From there, Arsenal and United exchanged goals through Mesut Özil and Ángel Di María to make it 3-2 for the Mancunian side after 6 penalty takers. On the 4th round of the shootout, Danny stepped forward with a chance to tie the score in the shootout like Mesut did earlier for the Gunners. Since Arsenal's previous 3 attempts went towards David's right side, Danny chose to hit a low shot towards David's left in the bottom corner. However, United's Spanish goalkeeper also anticipated the manoeuver and dived towards his left. With just enough contact on the fingertips, David deflected the ball off the woodwork and away.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: OHHH, WELBECK MISSED IT! David de Gea has stopped his former teammate. Manchester United are now just one goal away.**_

The United fans in the stadium cheered loudly in relief as their team only needed a goal to win the Community Shield with 2 attempts at the most at the time.

_**Alan Smith**__**: Welbeck's shot was struck hard and low, but the goalkeeper just made a better save. The ball went off his fingertips, but it was enough for it to bounce off the outside of the post.**_

While everyone was guessing who the next Manchester United kicker would be, the players in red already knew who it would be. When the next player stepped forward, the majority of the worldwide audience, either in the stadium or in front of a screen, was astonished.

"_Are they really serious?_" Sarah asked.

"_You can bet they are, especially when SHE steps forward_." Noriko replied before she shouted: "C'mon, Nana!"

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Well, this is a surprise. Coming forward is Nana Mishima with the chance to end the contest here and now, and to write another page of history.**_

Knowing the importance of the next kick, the Arsenal fans in the opposite end of Wembley Stadium intensified the booing and the whistling in their attempt to take Nana's concentration away. Even Wojciech stepped ahead and attempted to get into Nana's head with some taunting.

"_Hey, Mishima! You don't have the guts and even less the balls for this kind of stuff. Go back and cry to your mommy while you can_." Wojciech said.

However, the young Japanese woman never let anything going through her mind nor did she even look at the goalkeeper. She only stood outside of the box until the referee ordered the Arsenal goalkeeper to move back on his goal line.

Once Nana stepped inside the box, the only things she had in mind were to put the ball in the correct position and then move into position. She already made her mind about where to aim at the goal.

'Keep your cool, Seven.' Kakeru thought as if he was trying to convey his advice through telepathy.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: Who will win the battle of nerves? Mishima or Szczesny?**_

PEEP!

Nana made her run and struck the ball hard. Wojciech guessed the right side as he went diving on his right, but the shot was high and had too much pace for the goalkeeper to stop it from lodging into the top corner. In an instant, Nana sent the Manchester United half of Wembley Stadium into pandemonium.

_**Rob Hawthorne**__**: AND MISHIMA HAS DONE IT! Manchester United have won the Community Shield. Nana Mishima and David de Gea are the heroes at the moment.**_

Immediately after the 4-2 goal which settled the shootout, Nana celebrated the victory by doing a little Melbourne Shuffle dance. Within seconds, Nana got lifted off the ground with a hug from behind by David before she got mugged by her other teammates. Kakeru gave Nana a quick congratulatory kiss before he and other teammates joined her in the little dance she initiated.

Meanwhile in West Didsbury, Noriko and Sarah jumped around in the apartment's living room from the moment Nana scored. After a short while, they stopped to watch the celebrations.

"_I never thought she would be that good with nerves until today, but she really is something_." Sarah said as she was referring to Nana.

"_I know. She couldn't stand pressure in her early teenage days in the USA according to what she told me, but then she became a lot stronger over the years. She's one of the best I've seen among all female athletes I have ever met when it comes to mental strength_." Noriko replied.

"_Bless Fergie for signing her up at the same time he did so with Kakeru_."

"_You've got that right_." Noriko finished.

Back in Wembley:

'You truly earned that victory today, Kakeru and Nana. But things will be a lot different when we'll meet in North London, in September. You can count on that.' Araki thought as he watched his friends from the stands for a moment before he walked away.

A few minutes later, the Manchester United players walked up the steps in the middle of Wembley's North Stand as they were summoned to the Royal Box for the trophy presentation. Having both worn the captain's armband during the match, Wayne and Matthias received the Community Shield silver trophy from the FA chairman's hands and hoisted it together. Then the 2 captains passed the Shield to the next player and collected their winners' medals. A few players later, Kakeru and Nana received some of the loudest cheers from their supporters as they hoisted the Shield together.

Walking down the stairs and back on the pitch, the winning team moved to the designated area where the winners' picture would be taken by several photojournalists. After a few photos, Nana picked up one of the champagne bottles that were kept for the on-pitch celebration party and sprayed the first lot of champagne at her teammates. It wasn't long before Kakeru went on with some champagne spraying of his own, and then followed by some of his teammates who picked up the other champagne bottles.

For Manchester United, the victory against Arsenal meant a happy journey back to the Northwest of England. The moment of celebration was another one to enjoy fully like they did when they won the Premier League in the previous month of May. However, they knew the real job would start in the following weekend as the new Premier League season was set to begin.

* * *

Author's comments: I know it's difficult to predict who will stay or who won't at each club in a few years. However, I'm taking it like the creator of Captain Tsubasa: thinking as if teams remain fairly stable over time. Meanwhile, Héctor Ramirez is just a random name I came up for a young Arsenal defender.

As you probably read, it only takes a few hot heads and a few ugly moments to refuel a rivalry on both sides. Speaking of Szczesny's mind games, he admitted he said something along those lines to Antonio Di Natale a few years ago before a penalty kick.

The Melbourne Shuffle is a type of dance style which consists of a fast heel-and-toe action. Scooter's songs _J'adore Hardcore_ and _Stuck On Replay_ gives good examples of that on Youtube.


End file.
